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THE AMERICAN 



CYCLOPAEDIA. 


A COMPLETE READY REFERENCE LIBRARY 

FOR 



FARMERS, GARDENERS, FRUIT GROWERS, 
STOCKMEN AND HOUSEKEEPERS, 


CONTAINING A LARGE FUND OF USEFUL INFORMATION, 




-''TACTS, HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS, 


1 


IN THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS OF 


AGRICULTURE , HORTICULTURE , LIVE STOCK RAISING , 
POULTRY KEEPING, BEE KEEPING, DAIRY FARMING, 
FERTILIZERS , RURAL ARCHITECTURE , FARM 
IMPLEMENTS, HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT, 
DOMESTIC AFFAIRS , COOKERY, LADIES’ 
FANCY WORK , FLORICULTURE, 

MEDICAL MATTERS, Etc., Etc. 


WITH TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-NINE ILLUSTRATIONS. 

or 

v \^ c opyr^T^c^ 


F. M 


New York: 

LUPTON, PUBLISHER 
No. 63 Murray Street. 


(o SEP 12 1887 f 

va . o-1 


1887. 



















» 


! 


COPYRIGHT BY 

F. M . LUPTON, 
1887. 








PREFACE. 


The purpose of this volume is to supply a ready reference library of use¬ 
ful facts and suggestions for farmers and housekeepers. Within the pre¬ 
scribed limits of the work it would be impossible to present the fullest 
details of agricultural and kindred sciences, hence the author has deemed 
it politic to deal mainly with the more practical relations of agriculture and 
domestic affairs. Such matters as are self-evident and well understood by 
every practical agriculturist—as for instance the details of the cultivation of 
the commoner farm products—it has been thought wise to treat upon but 
meagerly, in order that full scope might be given to practical hints and use¬ 
ful suggestions in all branches of agriculture. The object of the work is 
not to tell the farmer and the housewife that which they already know, but 
to present to them valuable information which it is believed cannot fail to be 
of material assistance in rural homes. 

In the preparation of the work great care has been taken and no pains 
have been spared to make it complete in every detail. Consultation of the 
best authorities insures its reliability, and it is believed that it will be found 
invaluable by all who become possessed of it, and that it will prove one of 
those exceptional books which are prized more highly by reason of age and 
constant association; for it will doubtless be consulted almost daily in the 
course of rural and household affairs. There is hardly a day in a farmer’s 
life but that some problem arises not easy of solution without a reliable 
treatise of this kind to consult. Such a want it is the purpose of this volume 
to supply. The author is well aware that the masses of agriculturists have 
but little money to waste upon luxuries of auy kind, and he is equally con¬ 
fident that the purchase of this book, far from being a waste of his hard 
earnings, will prove one of the most profitable of investments. Its perusal 
will develop new ideas, new methods and new theories in every branch of 
farm labor of incalculable value, and the household department will be 
found equally as serviceable to the farmer’s wife as will the agricultural de¬ 
partment to the farmer. 

In the compilation of the work we have been largely indebted to the 
leading agricultural journals of this country and Europe, as well as to many 
standard works upon agricultural and household topics. Access to exten¬ 
sive files of the former could alone insure completeness in a work of this 
kind. Entire originality, therefore, we do not claim. We maintain, how¬ 
ever, that we have succeeded in producing a work of far greater value than 
any exclusively original production could possibly be, for we present herein 
the views of nearly all the ablest writers in the country upon the various 
topics treated, giving to the people at large the benefits of their extensive 
experiment and research. It would be possible for a farmer, by subscribing 
for all the leading agricultural periodicals of the country for a number of 
years and by purchasing a considerable library of standard works upon the 
subject, and carefully culling therefrom such items and articles as he con- 


iv 


PREFACE. 


sidered of the greatest interest and value, and pasting them in a scrap-book, 
to collect a mass of matter equivalent to that portion of this book allotted to 
“The Farm,” and his wife, possessing herself of authorities upon the sub¬ 
jects in which she is interested and pursuing a like course, might produce a 
partial duplicate of the matter contained in the department of “ The House¬ 
hold ” ; but the cost would have been as three hundred to a unit, and the 
result would be a clumsy, voluminous scrap-book with no method of ar¬ 
rangement, in comparison with a neat, handy and convenient volume ar¬ 
ranged with every facility for reference. From this indisputable argument 
the value of the work to all interested in the subjects of which it treats may 
be computed; but we would not be misunderstood as claiming that the pos¬ 
session of the work by a farmer and housekeeper will obviate the necessity 
of subscribing for the agricultural paper as usual, for, while the book is the 
more valuable for reference, especially in cases of emergency, the agricul¬ 
tural paper is indispensable as enlightening the farmer upon the new theo¬ 
ries constantly being promulgated and the new discoveries at all times being 
made, without which knowledge he would fail to keep pace with the age in 
which he lives, and therefore be unable to compete with his more progressive 
neighbors in the prosecution of his calling. 

The term “ Cyclopaedia ” as applied to the work is a misnomer according 
to the lexicographer’s definition, inasmuch as the alphabetical arrangement 
of titles, as required for works thus designated, has not been preserved, the 
- compiler being convinced that the arrangement of the subject-matter in 
departments would be more acceptable to the public. As by common usage 
applied to any work covering all subjects embraced in a certain field of 
knowledge, however, the title is entirely in keeping with the character of the 
book, for as a treatise upon all matters pertaining to the farm and the house¬ 
hold it is complete. It is a book for each of the heads of the rural house¬ 
hold, being equally as valuable and interesting to the farmer’s wife as to 
the farmer himself, and may be truthfully said to embrace the cream of 
more than a dozen ordinary volumes, for it combines a book on Rural Archi¬ 
tecture, on Crops, on Fertilizers, on Gardening, on Fruit Culture, on Live 
Stock, on Poultry, on Dairy Farming, on Bee Keeping, on Implements, on 
Farm Management, on Cookery, on Medical Matters, on Fancy Work, on 
Floriculture, on the Toilet, on Domestic Economy and Household Manage¬ 
ment—in fact, it embraces all subjects in which farmers and housekeepers 
are most directly interested. 

The arrangement of the work in departments will, we think, commend 
itself to all, while the copious index at the end will render it extremely easy 
of consultation. The book is a permanent storehouse of useful facts, hints 
and suggestions for farmers and housekeepers. It may be consulted upon 
any problem or in any emergency that may arise, and will rarely fail to 
elicit the information desired. We believe it to be the very book that every 
farmer and housewife needs, and that it will repay its small cost many times 
over each month in the year. 


) 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Rural Architecture. 11 

Fences and Gates . 27 

Field Crops. 37 

Fertilizers. 58 

The Garden . 81 1 

Orchard and Vineyard . 103 ^ 

Small Fruits. 130 

Live Stock . 137 

The Poultry Yard. 190 

The Dairy. 221 

The Apiary .232 

Farm Implements. 241 

Around the Farm. 255 

Cooking Recipes. 277 

Ladies’ Fancy Work. 349 

Floriculture. 381 

The Home Physician. 412 


The Toilet 


461 ^ 




















vi CONTENTS. 

The Laundry. 471 

Hints and Helps. 483 

Index. 531 







LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


An Inexpensive Cottage.—Elevation. 

“ “ “ Ground Plan.! 

An Ornamental Country Cottage.— Elevation.. 

. “ “ “ Ground Plan 

Elevation of an Octagonal Barn.—Fig. l_ 

Plan of Basement.—Fig. 2. 

Corner Joint.—Fig. 3.” ‘ *. 

Corner Brace. —Fig. 4. 

Plan fora Barn.—Front Elevation..... 

“ “ “ “ Ground Plan.’ * * 

A Complete Stock Barn.—Elevation. 


U 

u 


“ “ “ “ Ground Plau. 

A Convenient Barn.—Fig. l. 

“ “ “ Fig. 2. 

An Old Barn Improved.—Elevation. 

“ Plan of Basement. 

Appearance After Completion.—Fig. 1. 

Manner of Applying the Rollers.—Fig. 2. 

Model Carriage House and Stable.—Elevation.... 
“ “ “ “ “ Ground Plan 

Farm Fences.—Fig. l. 

ii “ Fig. 2 . 

“ “ Fig. 3. 

Fig. 4.. 

Fig- 5. 

Section of Straight Rail Fence. 

Durable Fence Posts. 

Always-Ready Gate. 

A Good Farm Gate. 

A Cheap Gate. 

Fancy Gates.—Fig. l. 

“ “ Fig. 2. 

“ “ Fig. 3. 

“ “ Fig. 4. 

Trestle Frame Used in Boring the Posts. 

Shovel, Axe and Digger. 

Trestle for Pointing the Rails. 

Section of the Six Rail Fence. 

Auger Wheel. 

Fence for Marsh or Soft Soil. 

Wheat Shocks. —Fig. l. 

Fig. 2. 

Fig. 3. 

How to Stack Straw. 

An Ohio Corn Crib.—Fig. 1. 

“ “ “ “ Fig. 2. 

A Convenient Corn Crib. 

Corn Cribs.—Fig. 1. 

Fig. 2. 

Fig. 3. . 

Contrivance for Catching the Potato Beetle. 

Mushroom Culture.—Tub. 

Movable Beds Against a Wall. 

Bed with Two Sides Partially Uncovered. 

Movable Shelf. 

The Melon Worm.. 

Pruning—Making the Cut.. 

Pruning.—Fig. 1. 


u 


u 

(( 


u 

(( 


PAGE 
. 11 
. 12 
. 13 
. 14 

. 15 

. 16 
. 16 
. 16 
. 17 
. 18 
. 19 
. 20 
. 21 
. 21 
. 22 
23 
. 24 
. 24 
. 25 
. 26 
. 27 
. 28 
. 28 
. 29 
. 29 

. 29 
. 30 

. 30 
. 31 
. 31 
. 32 
. 32 
. 33 
. 33 
. 34 
. 35 
. 35 
. 36 
. 36 
. 36 
. 37 
. 38 
. 38 
. 39 

. 40 

. 40 
. 41 
. 42 

. 42 
. 42 

. 47 
. 84 
. 84 
. 85 
. 85 
. 96 
. 103 
. 105 

































































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


vili 


Pruning.—Fig 2... 

Grafting Apple Trees. 

Transplanting Large Trees.—Fig. 1. 

“ “ “ Fig. 2. 

Belgian Fruit Gatherer. 

In the Vineyard.—Fig. 1.. 

“ “ “ Fig. 2. 

“ “ “ Fig. 3. 

Keeping Grapes in Winter.—Fig. 1. 

“ “ “ “ Fig. 2. 

A Cheap Trellis. 

Horseshoe.—Fig. l. 

“ Fig. 2. 

To Break Horses from Pulling at the Halter.—Fig. 1. 
“ “ “ “ “ “ “ “ Fig. 2. 

How to Prevent Horses from Kicking. 

One Cause of Hide-Bound. 

Ringing a Bull. 

Relieving Choked Cattle. 

Cattle Rack. 

To Prevent Cattle from Hooking Fences. 

To Prevent Cows Kicking. 

Cheap Shelter for Stock. 

Feed Rack for Stock. 

Calf Weaner. 

A Winter Piggery. 

Convenient Trough... 

A Convenient Feeding Trough. 

A Good Pig Sty. 

Pig Scraping Table. 

An English Method of Hurdling Sheep. 

Sheep Ticks Magnified. 

/Tank for Dipping Sheep. 

v Feed Rack for Sheep. 

j A Poulti’y House for Chicks. 

\ A Model Hennery.—Elevation. 

/ “ “ “ End View of Interior. 

J Movable Poultry House. 

Model Poultry House.—Elevation. 

“ “ “ Plan and Yard. 

Chicken and Duck Enclosure. 

Inside of Incubator. 

Incubator Closed. 

Top Heat Incubator, on Table. 

Form of Tank. 

How to Raise Artificially Hatched Chickens.—Fig. 1 

u a a a u u Fig 2 

“ “ “ “ “ “ Fig! 3 

Brooder. 

Canvas Covered Case. 

Common Transporting Case. 

Suspension Egg Carrier. 

A Rustic Poultry House. 

Packing Poultry_Fig. 1. 

“ “ Fig. 2. 

Feeding Hopper. 

A Perfect Feeding Hopper. 

Chicken Coop.—Fig. 1. 

“ “ Fig. 2. 

Grain Chest for Fowls. 

An Inexpensive Chicken Coop. 

A Cheap Chicken Fountain. 

Dairy Pail. 

Milking Pail. 

I Strainer. 

\ Double Strainer. 

^ Milk Cooler.—Fig. l. 

“ “ Fig. 2. 

Power for Churning.—Fig. 1. 


PAGE 
.. 106 
.. 107 
.. 108 
,. 109 
.. 112 
.. 126 
.. 126 
.. 127 
.. 128 
.. 128 
.. 129 
.. 140 
.. 140 
.. 141 
.. 142 
.. 143 
.. 144 
.. 155 
.. 157 
.. 159 
.. 161 
.. 162 
.. 164 
.. 166 
.. 167 
.. 174 
.. 175 
.. 177 
.. 178 
.. 181 
.. 184 
.. 186 
.. 187 
.. 188 
.. 190 
.. 191 
.. 192 
.. 193 
.. 194 
.. 194 
.. 195 
.. 197 
.. 197 
.. 198 
.. 198 
.* 198 
.. 199 
.. 199 
.. 200 
.. 201 
.. 201 
. . 202 
.. 204 
.. 206 
.. 206 
.. 208 
.. 208 
.. 210 
.. 210 
.. 213 
.. 216 
.. 217 
.. 221 
.. 221 
.. 222 
.. 222 
.. 223 
.. 223 
.. 224 







































































list of illustrations. 


it 


Power for Churning.— Fig. 2 

U “ “ Q 


Improved Butter Worker.—Fig. l. 

“ “ “ Fig. 2. 

Movable Shelf for Holding Butter Prints. 

Platform. 

Arrangement of Hives. 

Inside of End Piece. 

Outside of End Piece. 

View of Side Piece. 

Design of Roof. 

Appearance When Complete. 

The Main Bee House, Showing Tiers of Hives 

The Swarming Bag. 

The Queen Breeding Hives. 

Centrifugal Machine, Showing Inside. 

The Queen Cage. 

Bee Hive.—Fig. l. 

“ “ Fig. 2. 

“ “ Fig. 3. 

Combined Roller and Vibrating Harrow. 

Hay Elevating Apparatus. 

Home-Made Tool.—Fig. l. 

“ “ “ Fig. 2. 

Improved Tread Power. 

A Good Corn Marker. 

A Good Clod Crusher. 

Spile or Post Driver. 

Coulter-Cleaning Plow Attachment. 

Farm Tool House. 

Corn Shelter. 

A Good Weeding Implement. 

Thomas’ No-Patent Scraper. 

Clod Crusher. 

A Good Road Scraper. 

Snow Plow. 

Bag Holders.. 

Hand Plow.. 

Making and Keeping Ice. 

Smoke House.—Fig. 1. 

“ “ Fig. 2. 

“ “ Fig. 3. 

Trap.—Fig. 1. 

“ Fig. 2. 

A Mink Trap. 

A Good Mole Trap . 

Martin Box. 

Rustic Seat.—Fig. l. 

“ “ Fig. 2. 

“ “ Fig. 3. 

Rustic Garden House. 

How to Thatch Roofs. 

Work Table Cover. 

Embroidery Designs. —Blackberry. 

“ “ Initial Letter. 

•c it a tt 

Work Basket. 

Pillow Sham. 

Clothes Brush Holder.—No. 1. 

Back of No. 1. 

Hanging Basket. 

Ornamental Scrap Bag. .. 

Toilet Pincushion . 

Needle Cushion. 

Pen Wiper. 

Music Portfolio and Stand. 

Fancy Card Basket. 

Screen. 


PAGE 
.. 224 
. 225 
.. 225 
.. 227 
,. 227 
,. 228 
. 232 
. 232 
. 232 
. 233 
. 233 
. 233 
,. 233 
. 234 
. 235 
. 235 
. 236 
. 236 
,. 238 
.. 239 
. 239 
. 241 
. 242 
. 243 
. 244 
. 245 
. 245 
. 245 
. 246 
. 248 
. 249 
. 249 
.. 250 
. 251 
. 251 
.. 252 
,. 252 
. 253 
. 253 
. 255 
. 256 
. 257 
. 257 
. 260 
. 260 
. 261 
. 262 
. 263 
. 265 
. 265 
. 265 
. 268 
. 269 
. 349 
. 350 
. 350 
. 351 
. 352 
. 353 
. 354 
. 354 
. 355 
. 356 
.. 357 
. 357 
. 357 
. 358 
. 359 
. 360 








































































X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Slipper Case... 360 

Card-Receiver and Watcli Case. 361 

Toilet Bottle Case.—Fig. 1. 362 

“ “ “ Fig. 2. 362 

Catcll-All. 363 

Ottoman. 364 

Toilet or Work Basket.*..364 

Crochet Sofa Pillow or Bolster. 365 

Handkerchief Box. 366 

Wall Pocket. 367 

Floral Transparency.•. 368 

Lamp Shade. 369 

Glove Box and Cover. 370 

Sachet. 370 

Ladies’ Fancy Bag Purse. 371 

Scissor Case and Needle Cushion. 372 

Hanging Portfolio. 373 

Visiting Card Stand. 374 

Work Basket, Open. 375 

“ “ Closed. 375 

Knitted Dressing Slipper.—Fig. 1. 376 

Detail of Fig. 1 .—Fig. 2. 376 

“ “ “ “ Fig. 3.376 

Stand for Cigar Ashes. 377 

Baby Basket. 378 

Embroidered Chair Cover. 379 

Work Stand. 380 

Ivy for Picture Frames. 381 

Double Window and Plant Shelf. 384 

Pretty Arrangement for Sitting-Room Windows. 385 

Bay Window with Plant Platform. 386 

Deep Bay Window with Brackets. 387 

Ornamental Wardian Case. 389 

Rustic Hanging Basket. 391 

i The Mud System of Slipping Plants. 394 

Rustic Flower Stand. 395 

A Miniature Green House. 397 

Megarrhiza Californica........ 399 

Bromus Patulus Nanus. 399 

Rhynchocarpa Glomerata. 400 

Begonia Davisii. 400 

An Ivy Screen. 401 

A Living Vase. 402 

A Wardian Case. 404 

Stand for Ferns. 406 

Trellis for Plants. 407 

A Washing Machine. 471 

Convenient Clothes Bars. 473 

Clothes Sprinkler. 473 




















































THE FARM 


RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 



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AN INEXPENSIVE COTTAGE.—ELEVATION. 


An Inexpensive Cottage. —We give the plan of a neat and beautiful 
country cottage, the low cost of construction of which adapts it to the wants 
of those in moderate circumstances, while, in attractive appearance and gen¬ 
eral convenience, it rivals those of a much higher cost. 

This cottage is designed in the rural Gothic or English manner, hut 
much modified, so as to adapt it to almost any site. The light, open porch 
may he omitted without injuring the design. In the plan, A is the porch, 
from which we enter the hall or entry, 8 feet wide, with the two best rooms, 
each 16x18 feet, on either side of it. Connected with the living-room, in its 
rear, is a good pantry. B is the back entry, communicating with the kitchen. 
C is the back porch, which may be left open in summer, and inclosed in win¬ 
ter, when it will serve as a place for coal and wood. On one side of the 
kitchen fire-place is a closet, and on the other a sink, into which, if possible, 


































































































12 


THE F All At. 


a water-pipe should be brought. The first story of this cottage is 10 feet, 
aud the second story 5 feet, on the sides, and 8 feet in the middle of the 
rooms. The pitch of the roof is a right angle. The cost of this cottage, with 
the interior neatly finished and painted in oil color, and the two principal 
rooms grained and varnished like oak, and their walls papered with suitable 
paper—all the other rooms having brown walls whitewashed—would be 
about $800. 

An Ornamental Country Cottage. —We give on pages 13 and 14 illus¬ 
trations of a plan and elevation of a cheap, but very ornamental, country 
cottage, which will be found both convenient and comfortable for a small 
family. If this plan is not extensive enough to meet your wants, it can be 
easily enlarged upon by making additions, or by enlarging the size of the 

whole plan, and thus in¬ 
creasing the dimensions of 
the rooms. This, however, 
would necessarily add to 
the cost of construction. 
The cottage, as shown in 
our illustration, presents a 
very aristocratic appear¬ 
ance, and, considering the 
small amount of money re¬ 
quired for its construction, 
is, we think, a very desir¬ 
able plan for a cheap and 
good dwelling-house. The 
dimensions of the rooms on 
the grouild floor are plainly 
given in our second illustra¬ 
tion. The porch, with its 
seat, is large and roomy; 
the living-room is of good 
size, well lighted by a 
square bay-window. The 
kitchen is well supplied 
with closets. The first floor 
could be very much im¬ 
proved by adding a one-story kitchen at the rear, making the living-room 
into a parlor, and the kitchen into a dining and sitting-room; the additional 
cost would be very small. The second floor contains three bedrooms, very 
conveniently arranged, and each provided with a closet. The two down¬ 
stairs rooms and the large front bedroom are supplied with open fire-places, 
the value of which for ventilation is so often overlooked in cheap houses. 
Besides this, there should be ventilating tubes or shafts in the chimney 
sides, with registers opening from each room, thus insuring a good system 
of ventilation. The roof should be ventilated by openings under the pro¬ 
jected eaves. The estimated cost of this building is from $1,200 to $1,800, 
according to locality and style of finish. 

General Suggestions to Those Intending to Build. _The following 

excellent recommendations are from the American Home and Farm Cyclo¬ 
pedia: Farmers can afford to leave cellar-kitchens, basements, third stories, 
and all other unnecessary stair-climbing devices to their city cousins, who 



AN INEXPENSIVE COTTAGE.—GROUND PLAN. 























RURAL ARCHITECTURE 


13 


have to count the cost of every squai*e foot they build upon. The only ad¬ 
vantage of second stories in the country is that they are more healthful for 
sleeping apartments. 

If every fire has a separate flue, and each flue terminates in its own par¬ 
ticular chimney-top, there will never be any trouble over smoking fires, if 
the chimney is high enough. 

Proper care in the arrangement of various rooms will save those who 
have to do the housework a thousand needless steps. Kitchen and dining¬ 



room should always be adjoining apartments. The china closet best opens 
into the dining-room. A trap-door connecting the pantry with the dining¬ 
room is a great convenience. It is well to have the wood-shed very near the 
kitchen, and connected with it by a covered way, avoiding exposure in in¬ 
clement weather. , ... , „ , 

An attic over the entire house, with a window at each end, will be tound 

of signal utility for drying clothes in bad weather. , - 

Provide plenty of closets and cupboards in all of the rooms. The lady of 
the house, who is the one most vitally interested in this matter, should not 


































































































































































14 


T1IE FARM. 


be allowed to insist upon this in vain. Varnishing wood will make the paint 
last longer, and saves incalculable elbow grease in house-cleaning. 

Shingles of cedar will last from thirty to forty years, and those of pine 
from twelve to twenty years. 

In the arrangement of out-buildings, the following relative proximity will 
be found convenient: First, the house; attached to that the kitchen-wing, 
with wood-house appended; then, at a little distance, the privy, carriage- 
house, and workshop, with pig-sty and poultry-house adjoined. 

Stone and brick walls should always be furred off, leaving an air space 
between the stonework and plastering throughout the entire wall, and open- 



AN ORNAMENTAL/ COUNTRY COTTAGE.—GROUND PLAN 




mg into the attic. This prevents dampness, and insures an equable tem¬ 
perature. Brick houses must have a slate, sheet-copper, or tarred paper 
cut-off inserted in the foundation just below the water-shed, as otherwise 
the moisture ot the ground is worked up by the brick, keeping the walls con¬ 
stantly damp. 

Frame houses may be made much warmer and more comfortable than 
they usually are by covering the studding with tongued and grooved 
sheathing, and this in turn by tarred building paper, placing the weather 
boarding over the whole. Fit the sheathing and weather boarding closely 
around door and window-frames, and let the tarred paper lap ever a little 
where there is likely to be a crack. 
































RURAL A R C1I1 TEC T UR E 


15 


Where ingrain carpets are to be used, it favors their economical cutting 
to have either the length or breadth of each room some multiple of their 
usual width—one yard—as twelve feet, fifteen feet, etc. 

Construction of an Octagonal Barn —There are various plans for 
laying out and building barns of this shape, in all of which the principles are 
the same. There is a concrete or stone foundation wall, which may be either 
below ground for a cellar or partially below it for a basement, or wholly 
above it for a stable, an inclined way being built on two opposite sides to 
give access to the barn floor. Upon this foundation the sills are laid, the 
corners being made at an angle of 135 degrees, instead of 90 degrees, as in 
the square building. There are no cross-beams necessary except upon the 
floor, there being eight bents in the building, all on the outside, the plates 



FIG. 1.—ELEVATION OF AN OCTAGONAL BABN. 

being mortised exactly as the sills are, and the posts placed with regard to 
the necessary doors and windows, and the strength necessary to support the 
roof and stiffen the building. As many braces as may be thought needful 
may be used, but the braces must all be on the lines of the walls, and none 
of them cross-braces. The roof is an eight-sided cone, strengthened with 
purlin plates, and may be open at the center for a cupola or ventilator. The 
joints of all the plates and the sills will be at an angle of 62 1-2 degrees, in¬ 
stead of 45 degrees, as in a square building. This form of the frame will 
give a roof of the strongest kind—one that cannot spread, if well put to¬ 
gether, and one that offers less resistance to the wind than any other form 
of elevated roof. Inside of the barn there is nothing to interfere with the 
piling of grain or hay to the roof, and a wagon may be driven anywhere upon 



























































































































































































































16 


THE FARM . 



FIG. 2. —PLAN OF BASEMENT. 


the floor. The plan of the basement is shown at Fig. 2, a being a passage 
for the cows, and a drive-way for removing the manure; b, b, are the stalls 
for the cows, of which there are fifty-two, having the feed-trough toward the 
center, and all reached by an inner drive-way. There are six stalls, and a 

room at each end of the 
stalls for harness. At e 
is a place for storing 
plows, carriages, wagons, 
or machines. A drive- 
way (f,f) passes through 
the basement from east 
to west. As many win¬ 
dows as needed may be 
built in the wall. The 
sills of the barn are laid 
upon the wall, as already 
mentioned; the posts are 
28 feet high, and the 
plates upon these sup¬ 
port the rafters. The 
plates are fastened to¬ 
gether at the ends by be¬ 
ing halved, and the cor¬ 
ners fastened by half-inch 
iron bolts, as shown at 
Fig. 3. At each corner 
is a brace of 8x8 timber, 
bolted to and through the plates by three-quarter-inch bolts, and strength¬ 
ened by an iron plate on the inside, through which the bolts pass. The 
shoulders of the corner rafters rest upon these braces and plates, as shown 
at Fig. 4. These rafters are of 6x12 timber. Purlin plates of 8x10 inch tim¬ 
ber are bolted under the rafters, and are fastened together at the corners in 
the same manner as the plates. The intermediate rafters rest upon these 
purlins. Iron tie-rods may be used to 
strengthen the rafters and hold them to¬ 
gether, if thought necessary. Fig. 1 shows 
the elevation, with a portion of the roof re¬ 
moved to show the manner of laying the 
rafters and bridging them. A crown rim is 
bolted to the rafters at the point of the roof 
—or, rather, the rafters are bolted to the 
crown rim—which supports a cupola. The 
cupola is fifty feet from the floor of the barn, 
the roof rising twenty-two feet, and the post 
being twenty-eight feet high. The floor of no. 3.— corner joint. 
the barn is laid upon beams, supported by fig. 4.— corner brace. 

brick piers or timber posts in the basement. 

A line of beams may be laid above the floor on either side, above which 
floors may be laid; the space thus made may be used for granaries, or stor¬ 
age of farm tools or machines, or other cumbrous property. 

Pljin for a Barn. —We present herewith a plan for a new and improved 
barn. For convenience, neatness of appearance, and practical utility, it will 

















RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 


1? 


corn; 


be found most excellent, and should any of our readers contemplate build¬ 
ing, they would do well to give this article a careful study; and should they 
not desire to follow out the plan to the letter, they might still be able to gain 
from it some valuable hints in planning a barn of a different style. The fol¬ 
lowing is the description of the plan we have illustrated: 

A, stables, 8x28, for nine cows, earth floor; B, man’s room; C, carriages; 
D, harness room; E, meal 


or shorts; F, shelled 
G-, oats; H, passage-way; I, 
passage-way, 4 feet wide, 
platform floor, with pump; 
L, box for mixing feed; M, 
stairs; N, 0, stalls, 5 feet 
wide; P, Q, K, stables, 6 
feet wide; S, feed-bin for 
cattle; V, feed-box for 
horses; W, wagon shed, 
earth floor, 18x21; X, wagon 
shed, open at south and 
east, 9x17; Y, tool room, 
9x10; Z, feed-bin; W, T, 
water-trough. 

Main barn, 30x42 feet; 
posts, 18 feet in the clear; 
shed wing, 26x30 feet; posts, 
12 feet in clear; lean-to shed, 
14 feet wide, 42 feet long- 
all to have roof at one-third 


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angle of rise. 

There will be 230 feet in 
length of wall underground, 
to be built of rough stone 1 
foot high and 18 inches thick. 

Upon this is to be laid, in 
courses, quarried stone, in 
blocks, not less than 8x12 
inches, 1 foot high and 1 
foot thick, and all pointed. 

There will be required 
twelve piers, each 18 inches 
squaro and 2 feet high; 
these to be built of stone, 
and four of them to have 
the upper stone 12x18 
inches. All to be laid in 
good strong lime mortar, 
and in a workman-like and 
substantial manner. There will be required for sills 334 feet in length of 8x8 
timber, and 42 feet in length, 6x8; this last for the sill in front of cones in 
lean-to shed. For posts, girts of main beams, plates, etc., etc., there will be 
required 913 feet in length, of 6x6. For purlin beams, girts, etc., there will 
be required 454 feet of length, 4x6; and for intermediate girts, braces, etc., 
394 feet of length, of 3x4 stuff. The sides should all be of oak or white pine. 

































































































































































































































































































18 


ikfl Pa it Mi 


The main beams, purlins, posts, girts, etc., may be of oak, ash, red bircil, 
white pine, or white wood. The joists are to be of oak or white pine, and 
these will be required as follows: 103 pieces, each 14 feet long, 2x8; 20 pieces, 
each 9 feet long, 2x8; 20 pieces, each 10 1-2 feet long, 2x8; and 11 pieces, each 
8 feet long, 2x8. The rafters will be as follows: 42, each 19 feet long, 2x4 at 



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one end and 4xG at the other, for the main beam; 21, each 17 feet long, 3x4, 
for the lean-to shed; and 30, each 10 feet long, 2x4 at one end and 3x5 at the 
junction of the first with the second stories (as shown from outside). There 
should be a strip inserted of 2x2. The frieze board to be 8 inches Avide and 
2 inches thick. The boards all to be straight edge, and the whole to be bat¬ 
tened with strips one inch thick and three inches wide, having the edges 
beveled half an inch, exhibiting a face of two inches. The whole to be of 
good, merchantable, dry pine timber. The roof boards may be of any light 
















































lilfRAt ARCin'TECTtJRft. i9 

line! durable timber, and sball be laid so that no space of over two inches 
may be found. That portion of the roof which projects beyond the up¬ 
right portion of the building shall be of double thickness. The shingles are 
to be of the be$t quality, and laid only 4 inches to the weather. The win¬ 
dows are to be made as per plan, all frames to be of seasoned pine, free 
from knots. The sash windows of 12 lights, each 9x12 inches, except two, 
viz., one in south end of main barn, and one 
in east side of same; these to be as shown in 
plan. The blind windows to be hung with 
butt hinges, and fastened with hasp hooks, 
both outside and inside. They are to swing 
outward. 

The doors are all to be formed to present 
an appearance outside same as balance of 
barn. They are to be jack-planed sufficient¬ 
ly to render them free of splinters in hand¬ 
ling. They are to be placed and formed of 
height, width, etc., as shown in plan. They 
are all to be hung w r ith wrought-iron strap 
hinges, and secured by latches and hasp hook 
staples. 


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A Complete Stock. Barn. —We present 
herewith an illustrated plan, with careful de¬ 
scription, of a complete stock barn, embrac¬ 
ing many good and sensible points in its 
construction, from which we trust our friends 
may gather some valuable suggestions. 

The body of the main barn is 100 feet long 
by 50 feet Avide, the posts 18 feet high above 
the sill, making 9 bents. The beams are 14 
feet aboA^e the sills, which is the height of the 
inner posts. The position of the floor and 
bays is readily understood from the plan. 

The floor, for a grain barn, is 14 feet Avide, 
but may be contracted to 12 feet for one ex¬ 
clusively for hay. The area in front of the 
bays is occupied with a stationary horse¬ 
power and with machinery for various farm 
operations, such as threshing, shelling corn, 
cutting straAV, crushing grain, etc., all of 
Avhich is driven by bands from drums on 
the horizontal shaft overhead, Avhich runs 
across the floor from the horse-power on 
the other side; this shaft being driven by 
a cog-wheel on the perpendicular shaft round which the horses travel. 

A passage four feet Avide extends betAveen the bays and the stables, Avhich 
occupy the tAVO Avings. This extends up to the top of the bays, doAvn AAhich 
the hay is thrown for feeding, which renders this work as eas\ and com en- 
ient as possible. 

A one-sided roof is given to the sheds (instead ot a double-sided), to 
throw all the water on the outside, in order to keep the interior ot the 
jards dry. Eave-troughs take the Avater from the roofs to cisterns. I ho 












































































20 


THE FARM. 


cisterns, if connected by an underground pipe, may be all drawn from by A 
single pump if necessary. 

The floor of the main barn is three feet higher than that of the stables. 
This will allow a cellar under it, if desired—or a deeper extension of the 
bays- and it allows storage lofts over the cattle, with sufficient slope of 
roof. A short flight of steps at the ends of each passage, admits easy access 
from the level of the barn floor. 

The sheds, which extend on the three sides of the barn, and touch it at 
the rear end, are on a level with the stables. An inclined plane, from the 
main floor through the middle of the back shed, forms a rear egress for 
wagons and carts, descending three feet from the floor. The two rooms, 
one on each side of this rear passage, 16 by 34 feet, may be used for housing 
sick animals, cows about to calve, or any other purpose required. The sta¬ 
bles at the front ends of the sheds are convenient for teams of horses or oxen, 
or they may be fitted for wagon houses, tool houses, or other purposes. The 
rooms, 16 feet square at the inner corners of the sheds, may be used for 
weak ewes, lambs, or for a bull stable. 

Backs or mangers may be fitted up in the open sheds for feeding sheep 



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A COMPLETE STOCK BARN.—GROUND PLAN. 


SHEOS 


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or voting cattle, and yards may be built adjoining, on the rear, six or eight 
in number, into which they may run and be kept separate. Barred parti¬ 
tions may separate the different flocks. Bars may also enclose the opening 
in front, or they may, if required, be boarded up tight. Step ladders are 
placed at convenient intervals, for ascending the shed lofts. 

A granary over the machine room is entered by a flight of stairs. Poles 
extending from bay to bay, over the floor, will admit the storage of much 
additional hay or grain. 

A C onvenient Barn._A recent inquiry about how to build a barn, 
writes a correspondent of an agricultural periodical, tempts me to describe 
mine, which I think very handy. My barn is situated on a side hill with an 
incline of about seven feet in forty to the west. There is a bridge at each 
end for a driveway, only one of which is shown in our illustration, Fig. 1. 

On the right, as you enter the main door, the bays extend down to the 
ground nine feet. Under the main floorway I keep my sheep. Under the 
bridge each end is open, to give the sheep plenty of light and air, as it will 
not do to keep them too warm. In stormy weather I close the doors. On 












































RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 


21 


the left of the main floorway is the cow linter, and, beneath, the pig pen. The 
arrangement will be more readily understood from the illustration, Fig. 2. 

1. Sheep pen; 2. Barn floorway; 3. Standing floor in the linter; 4. Cows’ 
manger; 5. Iron strap used instead of stanchion; 6. Tie chain; 7. A trough 
filled with dirt or sawdust for the animals’ front feet to stand on, thus pre¬ 
venting slipping; 8. Cows’ feed door; 9. Sheeps’ feed door; 10. Sheep rack; 
11. Pig pen; 12. Windows used for 
cleaning sheep pens and pig pens; 

13. Tight partition; 14. Walk behind 
the cows; 15. Scuttle for cleaning out 
manure. 

It will be noticed that the door 
through which the sheep are fed 
opens downward, and does not con¬ 
flict with the co-ws’ feed door, which 
lifts upward. By having these doors 
the linter can be closed up tight in 
cold weather, and the cattle will 
keep warm. The main part of the 
barn need not be clap-boarded. So 
long as the roof is tight and the hay does not get wet, it is no injury to the 
fodder to have it well ventilated. This ventilation is indeed beneficial and 
necessary to carry off from the fodder the effluvia from the manure in the 
cellar. 

Cheap Barn Cellar. —But comparatively few farmers (as compared to 
the masses) have yet been convinced that it will pay to construct a root-cel¬ 
lar, and then to raise the roots to fill it with, but for all that, those who have 

provided themselves with cel¬ 
lars find they pay. As it is not 
always convenient to have one 
beneath the barn, it may be 
built above ground as follows: 
Dig down three feet the size 
desired; twelve by twenty feet 
makes a good large cellar; and 
ten by sixteen feet will do for 
six or eight hundred bushels. 
Get on hand a lot of small logs 
or poles from six to ten inches 
in diameter, with which to build 
the portion above ground. Cut 
the poles for each side three feet 
longer than the width or length 
of the excavation. Place the first 
two poles on flat stones or blocks 
back a foot from the edge of the hole dug, and upon opposite sides. Flat¬ 
ten the ends with the ax and lay two cross poles as you would in starting a 
log house. In these end pieces one foot from the end cut notches for the 
next side poles to lie in. With each round, set the side poles in a foot, 
which will give a regular slant to the roof, and make a very strong frame for 
the weight that is to come upon it. The end that is to contain the door 
should be carried up straight, while the other may be slanted up, as the sides. 



A CONVENIENT BAKN.—FIG. 2. 
















































































































22 


Tin: FARM 


Cov.er this frame with cull or common lumber, laying the boards on up 
and down. Next put on a heavy layer of marsh hay or straw to keep the 
dirt from coming in contact with and rotting the lumber; over this put a 
foot of earth. A shute should be provided for filling the house, and a small 
ventilation flue for winter. The end where the door is located should be 





double boarded and filled in between with saw-dust or cut straw; there 
should also be a double door. A storing house of this kind, if well made, 
will last eight or ten years, and give as good satisfaction as one costing $200. 


How an old Barn was Improved. —We present herewith a brief de¬ 
scription of how an old barn was remodeled and greatly improved without 
much expense, and furnish illustrations showing the barn after the changes 













































































































































































































































































































RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 


23 


had been made, and the plan of the basement underneath in detail. By a 
careful study of this plan, our readers may be able to gather some valuable 
hints and suggestions. The original building was the common 32x42 feet 
barn, with fourteen posts, a fourteen-feet floor in the middle, with bay on 
one side and stable on the other, with a lean-to of thirteen feet in the rear, 
the building standing on the line of the road and facing the west, the 
grounds descending say one foot in thirty to northeast. It was first raised 
so that the northeast corner would clear six feet, dug out to a level of one 
foot below that of the lowest corner; then a ditch was dug one and a half 
feet below that under the outside sills, all around which was filled with 


MANUAL S/iTJ 


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AN OLD BARN IMPROVED.—PLAN OF BASEMENT. 


small stone. A substantial stone wall was laid on the west side, and twenty- 
feet on both north and south ends; the rest of the building w^as double- 
boarded save where protected by other buildings. The front doors were 
then closed, the floor taken up, cut out the bay girts, and laid off a floor of 
twenty feet on the west side (space reaching from the ground to roof), made 
a floor twelve feet wide in upright and all of lean-to—in all twenty-five feet, 
and cut a door in south end. The bay now would hold more than the whole 
bam before; a large floor, 25x42, thirteen feet of which can be used to store 
grain, and a space of 25x42 feet for stable. A good idea of the interior 
construction may be obtained from the illustrated plan of the base 
n<ent. 





























24 


THE FARM. 



Hanging Barn Doors on Rollers. —The great convenience of sliding 
or rolling doors on the farm outbuildings is well known, and as every 
farmer with a little ingenuity can construct them himself, there is no reason 
why they should not be generally adopted. Our illustration, Fig. I, repre¬ 
sents the sliding doors, completed, as applied to the barn; Fig. 2, the man¬ 
ner of applying the rollers to the doors and track. The rollers, track and 
other trimmings may be obtained at any hardware store. The track is first 

securely fastened to the edge 
Of an inch or two-inch board, 
about four or five inches wide. 
This is then firmly nailed or 
spiked to the building, parallel 
to and even with the top of the 
doorway, and should extend 
the width of the door on each 
side. In order that the doors 
may run easily, the track 
should be laid as level as 
possible, and upon one board. 
The manner of fastening the 
rollers of the doors is clearly 
shown in the engraving Fig. 2. The doors are placed upon the tracks at the 
ends of the latter, and are prevented from running off by placing a block at 
the end of the track or upon the side of the door. The track should be pro¬ 
tected from the weather by some kind of covering. Two narrow boards 
nailed together similar to an eaves-trough, and fastened to the building 
above the track and rollers, form the best kind of protection from snow or 
rain. 





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riO. 1.—APPEARANCE AFTER COMPLETION. 


Model Carriage-House and Stable —Our engraving of the elevation, 


on the following page, shows 
doors of the rectangular, car¬ 
riage-house portion of the 
building; also door to hay- 
loft. The carriage-house 
doors are folding, and open 
outward, as they can be made 
closer when hung on hinges 
than when hung on rollers; 
and as it is desirable that all 
doors and windows should 
be as close as practicable, 
that they may not affect the 



FIG. 2.— MANNER OF APPLYING THE ROLLERS. 


ventilation, the ingress of which is provided for by a subterraneous air duct, 
seen at A, in the ground plan. 

The posts are sixteen feet in length; the ceiling of the stable is nine feet 
in the clear, with storage in the loft for twelve tons of hay. 

The oat bin is a cylinder of one hundred bushels capaoity, around which 
circular stairs are built. Its location could not be more convenient, as six 
horses can be fed grain "with walking but fourteen feet, on account of the six 
stalls being with the head end around a semicircle of sixteen feet diameter. 
This circular area is open to the cupola, and being supplied with air through 
the floor, under the stairs, and the animals all breathing into a common een- 




























































RURAL ARCHITECTURE. 


25 


ter directly under the egress, the air is constantly changed without a per¬ 
ceptible current, and it is nearly at the temperature of the earth below the 
frost and solar influence; no doors nor windows need be opened. 

By reference to our illustration of the ground plan, it will be seen that 
the stall partitions are radial. The stalls are five feet in width in front, and 
eleven feet at the rear end. The stalls Y and YI are arranged with strong 
gates hung to the wall of the building, in a line with the stall partitions, 
which, when closed, as seen in stall YI, form spacious, convenient box stalls. 
There is no partition between the carriage-house, YII, and the stable por- 



MODEL CARRIAGE-HOUSE AND STABLE.—ELEVATION. 


tion of the building, except that formed by the stall partitions and tho gates 
closed, as seen in stall YI. 

The ventilation is so effectual that the air of the stable does not effect the 
carriage-house; and it being arranged with three drive doors, three pairs of 
horses to carriages may all be driven into the carriage-house at once, and 
the doors closed behind them, and the horses taken to their respective 
stalls. There are two harness closets, H, H. 

The rectangular figures in each stable floor, are cast-iron drip grates, 
each covering a sink, or pit, into which the urine falls. These are all con¬ 
nected by pipes, which all connect with a main inner conduit, laid in the 



















































































THE FARM . 



ground by way of the stable door. This conduit discharges into the manure 
house. The quadrant-shaped figures at the head of the stalls, are hinged 
iron mangers, which may be turned into the feeding passages for conven¬ 
ience in feeding, and the man¬ 
gers may be unhinged and 
removed from the building 
when cleansed. 

The circular figui'e in the 
line of the stall partitions, is 
the base of a sheet-iron hay 
tube, which is supported at 
the height of the manger, and 
extends to the upper surface 
of the loft floor, where it is 
supplied with hay. These 
tubes have an opening to each 
stall, so that one tube sup* 
plies two horses, the tube be 
ing covered at the top, and 
close, except the feeding open¬ 
ings, and the lattice bottom to 
them protects the hay from air 
and dust, and is the most per¬ 
fect and durable hay-feeding 
arrangement yet discovered. 
model carriage-house and stable.— The object of the lattice bot- 
ground plan. tom to the hay tubes, is to 

preserve the hay seed which 
sheds. It falls into a drawer for the purpose, and the seed thus saved is of 
excellent quality, and the quantity thus collected well remunerates for the 
cost of the arrangement. The cupola is octangular, and has four openings, 
with stationary blinds, and four with glazed sash, which thoroughly light the 
hay-loft and feeding passage. 

The building is perfectly lighted and ventilated, and exhibits a pretty 
elevation from any point of view. 









FENCES AND GATES 


Farm Fences. —In the following list of farm fences we have endeavored 
to illustrate and describe only those that are of practical value and in actual 
use by many farmers. They illustrate the various modes of arranging rails 
for the turning of stock and indicating the boundary line of farms. In many 
sections of the country the common crooked, zig-zag (sometimes called the 
Yii’ginia or worm) rail fence is extensively used, and, in consequence of the 
scarcity of the desired material, cannot be immediately replaced by the im¬ 
proved board, post and rail, iron or stone fence. As commonly constructed, 
with wide-spreading stakes at each corner, it occupies a strip of ground 
nearly a rod in width, which is far worse than useless, affording a harboring 
place for noxious weeds, 
etc. 

Fig. 1 represents a section 
of a straight rail fence. The 
stakes are first driven in 
the soil from four to six 
inches asunder, sufficient to 
admit of a rail of medium 
size; a stone or block of 
wood a few inches in height 
is placed between the 
stakes, upon Avhich are 
properly placed two or three 
rails; a piece of annealed wire is then placed around both stakes, the ends 
being well twisted together, upon which are placed rails until within a few 
inches of the top, when another bit of wire, a wooden pin, or a wooden cap, 
as most convenient, is attached. 

In building this class of fence, it will be necessary to cut away with an axe 
a portion of each end of many rails, that they may fit closely within the stakes. 
In this, as well as other rail fences, the largest and heaviest rails should be 
reserved for the top, rendering their removal by unruly stock and high 
winds less easy. Keep the crooked ones in a panel by themselves, and if 
they are very crooked it is policy to use them for stakes, or consign them to 
the flames; for to have a fence to please and not to provoke the intrusion of 
stock, use none but straight rails. 

When economy of rails is desired, immediately after setting the stakes 
cast up a ridge of earth by plowing two furrows on each side, throwing up 
the second furrow with a shovel, making a ridge a foot or more in height, 
and not less than a foot in breadth at the top; proceed as above in the con¬ 
struction of the fence; sow grass seed upon the ridge. This plan saves two 
rails to a panel, renders the stakes more firm and less liable to heave by the 
action of the frost, and unruly cattle do not have the same advantage in 
attempting to get through or over it. In situations not liable to the preva¬ 
lence of high winds, this is the fence that should be used, occupying less 
















































28 THE FA R M. 

ground than many other kinds; and, when properly constructed, it is a 
substantial and neat fence. 

Fig. 2, though in appearance somewhat resembling the previous one, is 

more expensive, and is designed 
especially for the use of poles or 
slender rails that it would be im¬ 
possible to properly arrange in a 
fence by any other plan. To the 
stakes are nailed cleats, as shown, 
from four to seven at every set of 
stakes. Size of rails and purpose 
of fence will decide this point. A 
ridge of earth can be thrown up 
as in the previous plan, with a 
corresponding economy of timber. 

Fig. 3 exhibits a mode of stak¬ 
ing a zig-zag fence. After the 
foundation has ..been laid, the 
stakes should be driven; holes 
should be made with a crowbar to 
the depth of twenty inches at least. One man, standing on a box or bench, 
drives them with a sledge-hammer or common wooden beetle, while an 
assistant keeps them upright. Make all the holes before you commence 
driving the stakes, which should be all sharpened, and the top end reduced 
to a size admitting the caps to pass over them readily before they are brought 
to the field. 

When the fence is made four or more rails high (the size of rails, etc., will 
govern), the caps are put upon, and the fence finished by the addition of two 
or three more rails. 

In localities where caps are expensive or difficult to obtain, good annealed 
wire, size 10, will answer all purposes. It should be drawn tightly up 
around the stakes; it will bury into them, and the weight of the rails above 
the wires will rest upon the stakes, having a tendency to keep them in the 
ground when acted upon by the frost. 

The most expeditious manner in which to sharpen stakes is to have a 
large, flat block of wood for the stake to stand on, which is held upright with 
one hand and sharpened with an axe held in the other; a hollow cut in the 
upper surface of the block will consider¬ 
ably expedite the operation. Hop poles, 
stakes for grape-vines, etc., aro best 
sharpened in tho above manner. 

In Fig. 4 is shown the best plan known 
for staking the common rail fence. It 
dispenses with stakes at the corners, and 
in consequence of their central position, 
they are not liable to be broken or 
loosened while plowing; nor does tho 
fence occupy as much land as by tho old 

mode. In consequence of the central farm fences._fig. 3. 

point at which the stakes cross the upper 

rail of fence, it is required to sustain the weight of the stakes and riders; 
therefore, this part should be made strong and durable, of Avell-seasoned 
material. 


























FENCES AN 7 ) GATES . 


20 


Fig. 5 represents a plan of bracing a rail fence, whether it be staked a.id 
ridered, staked and capped, locked and ridered, staked and wired, or wired 
and pinned, all of which kinds of fence are easily blown down by a heavy 
wind, rails broken, stock let into fields of valuable grain, time spent, and 
patience exhausted in rebuilding 
them. The manner of using the 
arrangement is clearly shown in the 
figure. It consists in placing on the 
inside leeward corner a piece of rail, 
one end resting upon the ground, the 
other placed underneath the third farm fences.—fig. 4. 

rail from the top. A fence braced as 

shown has stood five years without repairing, while a locked, staked and 
ridered fence by the side of it has been prostrated three times, although in a 
less exposed situation, thus demonstrating the value of this attachment when 

used in connection with the 
common rail fence. 

Straight Rail Pence— 

We present a section of 
straight rail fence, which 
will be found easy and cheap 
to construct, and economical 
in saving timber and occupy¬ 
ing space on the land. 

In constructing this fence 
good posts should be firmly 

farm fences._fig. 5. set at such distances apart as 

will admit of the rails reach¬ 
ing from the center of one post to the center ot the other. It necessaiy, 
straighten the face of the posts with an axe, and hew down the ends of the 
rails to a uniform thickness, 
of a stake, which rests on a 
stone or block of wood, and 
is firmly wired at the top 
and bottom to the post. In 
constructing the fence it is 
better to wire the bottom of 
the stake first—at the proper 
distance—and the top rather 
loosely, so as to admit the 
rails easily. When the rails 
are laid up draw the top 
wire tight, and if proper care 
has been taken in straight¬ 
ening the face of the post, 
hewing the ends of the rails, 
etc., the work will bind to¬ 
gether very tightly. 

The fence will last as 
no nails, nor any more wire than to stake an ordinary crooked fence, 
and it takes but little over half the posts necessary for an ordinary boa»d 
fence. 


These rails are fastened to tne posts Dy means 



SECTION OF STRAIGHT RAIL FENCE. 

long as the posts; it is strong, requires 















8 () 


THE FA J{ M. 


Dsjraljle Pence Posta.—We give herewith a drawing and description of 
a fence post which we think will last one’s life-time. The bottom of the post 
is formed of a stone—some kind that will drill easily—about eight inches 

thick and twenty long. In 
It-. this stone two holes are 

drilled, one an inch and a 
quarter in diameter and three 
inches deep, and the other, 
half an inch in diameter and 
two inches deep; the holes 
should be about one foot 
apart. Bed the stone in the 
ground nearly level with the 
surface, with the small hole 
on the inside of the fence. 
Next take a scantling four 
inches square and three feet 
long, and put a bar of inch 
and a quarter iron into one 
end, lengthwise, about six 
inches. The end of the bar 
should project four or five 
inches. Place this into the 
largest hole in the stone, hold 
it plumb, turn in melted 
brimstone, and you have a 
post. Bend the end of a rod 
of half inch iron, and fasten 
in the other hole in the same 
durable fence posts. way; the other end should 

be flattened and attached to 
the scantling with a stout screw. The bar should set tight in the post, and 
about one inch space for air should be left between the scantling and stone. 




Always-Read y Gate.—We give an illustrated plan of an always-feady 
gate—a small gate for a 
barnyard or elsewhere, 
where a passageway is much 
used. It is very convenient. 

This gate swings in a V- 
shaped inclosure, or in two 
sides of a triangle. Having 
the top hinge the longest 
and the post plumb, the 
gate, at rest, always hangs 
in the center, and rightly 
constructed will always 
leave a passageway of two 
feet. Cattle cannot get aeways-eeady gate. 

through it, nor do we think 

sheep will pass it. It is always shut and always open. It requires 
no watching to keep it closed, and will be found convenient in many 
ways. 


































































































































































































PPNCES ANP GATPS. 


31 

A Good Farm date.. —We present herewith an engraving of a good 
and serviceable farm gate, which may be easily and cheaply constructed as 
follows: 

Four posts are set firmly in line, so that the front will be true. Measure 
fourteen feet, on line with those already set, and set the post the gate shuts 
against. Then place the sill for the gate to run on, fourteen or sixteen feet 
long, put down solid. The sill for the gate to run back on can be made of any 
light material that will sustain the weight of the gate. The sill should have 
about one inch down grade toward the shutting post, and be spiked fast to 



A GOOD FARM GATE. 


the posts. The gate is made of any width lumber, and long enough to lap 
four inches on the shutting posts, and about two feet on the groove post, to 
keep it shady. At the bottom, the gate must have two boards to support the 
bolts that the rollers turn on. These rollers should be six inches in diameter, 
an inch thick, to run on half-round iron, placed at a proper distance from the 
bottom board of the fence, so as to let the gate pass without nibbing. The 
iron rod should have holes punched so as to let twelve-penny nails through 
to nail to the sill, about two feet apart. Nail down the rod and it is ready 
for the gate. The gate is put together with 
sixteen two and one-half inch bolts and 
eight three and one-half inch bolts; the 
three and one-half inch bolts go through 
three boards at the bottom. The rollers 
(as per drawing) go between the bottom 
boards close under the brace, so as to get 
the bearing; the bolts should fit the rollers 
as tight as possible. These rollers in their 
place, put up the gate on the rod, and run 
it back on the fence; mark the four posts 
one inch above the top of the gate; saw 
them off square, in line; place on top of the posts a joist twelve inches wide, 
two inches thick; let it project over in front of the gate far enough to clear it; 
now nail a six-inch strip on the edge of the joist, so that the top edge will be 
even with the top side of the joist; the four inches projecting down will serve 
as a groove for the gate to run in and keep it in its place; now spike the joist 
to the top of the post firmly; let the gate lap on the shutting post about four 
inches on half the posts; then nail the ends of the boards to the post occupy¬ 
ing the other half, so that the; gate will shut against the butts, which will 
help sustain the post; now nail a board solid in line with the butts, and thick 



A CHEAP GATE. 
























































































































































32 


THE EAJiM. 


enough to project a quarter to a half inch from the gate; nail a stout board 
on the previous one, and let it project over about three inches toward the 
gate, and in line with the post, so as to make a groove for the gate to 
stand in. If it is properly shaped the gate will jam in it and remain solid 
until it is removed back. 

A Cheap Gate —This gate, illustrated on preceding page, is designed 

merely for farm use. Wood and metal or wire 
are combined in a novel manner in its con¬ 
struction. It may be cheaply made by un¬ 
skilled labor, and combines lightness with 
durability. The gate is composed of two 
wooden uprights, one at the hinge end and 
the other at the free end, two horizontal 
rails and an oblique brace connecting the 
rods. An iron brace connects the upper end 
of the inner upright, and is provided with 
an eye which receives the pintle of upper 
hinge. Wires are stretched between the up¬ 
rights, forming a complete panel. This gate 
is very light, and at the same time simple 
and strong. 

Some Fancy Gates. —For the benefit of 
such readers as may be contemplating the 
luxury of a new front yard or garden fence, 
or, in fact, an ornamental fence of any de¬ 
scription, we present on this and the following page four neat and orna¬ 
mental designs of cheap, fancy framed gates, which any carpenter can make, 
and which maybe used appropriately with almost any style of picket or even 
Avith iron fences. These gates are usually made three feet six or eight inches 
wide. The space between the posts for an 
ordinary door yard gate should be three 
leet ten inches. That is, however, a matter 
to be decided by convenience, and the use to 
which it is to be put. A wide gate is more 
convenient than a narrow one, especially 
where baby carriages and wheelbarrows are 
much used, and the gate is employed as a 
common and general entrance and exit by 
the family for all purposes. 

To Preserve Fence Posts. —A cor¬ 
respondent at Benton Harbor, Mich., sends 
us the following statement by Parker Earle 

(a widely known horticulturist), in the fancy gates._fig. 2. 

Chicago Times, and requests our opinion of 

his mode for preserving fence posts. In answer, it may be stated that no 
single experiment, or no single series of experiments under like circum¬ 
stances, can be adopted as a rule for unlike conditions. For general appli¬ 
cation, we would recommend first impregnating the whole of the post with 
crude petroleum as a general preservative, and when dry apply hot tar to 
the portion going into the ground, but none above. The petroleum will 
penetrate the pores, and the tar coating will hold it there. The following is 














































FENCES AND CATES. 


33 


Mr. Earle’s statement: “In building a fence around our young orchard, 
several years ago, we tried many plans for preserving the posts. Having 
occasion to remove the fence this winter, we noted the condition of the posts 
as follows: Those set with no preparation 
were decayed an inch or more in thickness; 
those coated with a thick wash of lime were 
better preserved, but were quite seriously 
attacked by worms; those posts coated with 
hot tar were perfectly sound as when first put 
into the ground; those painted with petroleum 
and kerosene were equally sound, and as 
good as new. In future we shall treat all 
posts in the following manner before setting: 

Let the posts get thoroughly dry, and then, 
with a pan of cheap kerosene and a white¬ 
wash brush, give the lower third of the post, 
the part to go into the ground, two or three 
good applications of the oil, letting it soak in 
well each time. Posts so treated will not be 
troubled by worms or insects of any kind, 
but will resist decay to a remarkable degree. This we find to be the simplest, 
easiest, cheapest, and best method of preservation .”—Country Gentleman. 

Easy Method of Taking Up Posts. —Wishing to take up fence posts, 

which were sound, and standing solid in 
heavy clay soil baked hard by drouth, a cor¬ 
respondent made his head save his muscle: 
“I found that by pouring a pail of water 
around the post it may be very readily 
loosened by the hand. Then by hooking a 
chain about it loosely, flipping the noose 
down as far as possible below the surface of 
the ground, and hooking the other end of 
the chain around a piece of light scantling, 
near the center, to act as a lever, the post 
may be lifted out of its bed very easily.” 

A Good Pence.— Raise black walnut 
posts on the lot where they are wanted. If 
they grow fast they will do in from five to 
seven years. Use the barb wire. Black walnut injures crops less than 
almost any other tree. No stock will gnaw or hurt it. The roots run straight 
down, so you can plow against the trunk. It grows straight and tall, and has 
but few limbs. The working of the tree will not break the wire. Black wal¬ 
nut will pay all expenses in a few years in fruit. 

Post and Rail Pences. —We give herewith plain directions, with appro¬ 
priate sketches, which we think will enable any ordinarily skillful farm-hand 
to make the simple machinery necessary for boring the holes in the posts, 
mortising them out, pointing the rails, digging the holes in the earth, and 
putting up a good and substantial rail fence. The posts are 7 1-2 feet long 
for a six-rail fence, which is the best and most generally used, and 3 to 4 
inches thick by 7 to 8 inches wide. These posts are hewn out. The holes in 
the posts are oblong (up and down the post), and in size are 2 1-2x6 inches. 





































THE FA 11M. 


34 

The rails are 9 1-2 feet long, and 5 to 6 inches wide by 2 to 3 inches thick on 
the bark edge, and a quarter to a half inch thick on the other edge. 

In building the fence the bark edge is placed down f as the thin edge 
sheds rain or snow more readily, which prevents rotting so rapidly. The 
rails lap in the holes about five or six inches, as shown in the section, Fig. 4. 

In making the posts the 
timber is cut into proper 
lengths, and then split in 
proper size and hewn, leav¬ 
ing the ground end for two 
feet rough and unhewn, 
giving a stout base. This 
part of the work is done in 
the forest, after which they 
are hauled home, and put 
in piles ready for boring. 
The mode of making the 
oblong holes in the post is 
shown in the cut (Fig. 1), 
a representing the post, 
thin edge up. Two holes 
are bored with a two-and- 
a-quarter-inch auger at the 
points shown by the holes 
in the post on the trestle at 
a. The auger holes are six 
inches apart/rora outside to 
oxdside. The trestle frame 
is made of stout timber and 
planks, as shown in the fig¬ 
ure. The planks are put 
on the benches edgewise, 
and fastened with stout 
pins. A plank is placed 
fro m one bench to the 
other for the post to rest 
on, and these benches are 
eleven and a half feet 
apart. In the two planks 
it will be seen that notches 
are sawed at points to cor¬ 
respond with the holes to 
be made by the auger. 
These notched planks are 
placed thirteen or fourteen 
inches apart, to enable the round or sqtiare wheel (see Figs. 1 and 5) to run 
easily in between them. The post is held on the plank firmly by stout 
wooden pins and wedges. The bottom hole in the post is made two inches 
above the ground level. The next hole is three inches from the top of the 
bottom hole; the next four inches above that; the next is five above that; 
and the top hole is six inches above the one below it. In boring the holes 
the auger, which is firmly fastened in the wheel, must be moved (wheel and 
all, cf course) into the proper notches, and in this way every post is bored 



ce 

H 

co 

o 

a 

a 

w 

H 

O 

M 

a 

o 


o 

a 

02 

a 

a 

— 


a 

a 

H 

co 

a 

a 

H 


c 

£ 






















































































































































































































FENCES AND CATES . 


35 


alike, and all the holes in the post are the proper distance apart. After 
your posts are bored, the next step is to have a narrow-blade axe, with a 
short handle, as shown at c, Fig. 2 (a common axe, would do, however), 
and with this mortise out the holes, which is done by laying the post flat¬ 
wise on the ground, or on a 
stout, low trestle, similar to 
the “ pointer” shown at Fig. 3. 

When one side is mortised half 
out, turn the post and finish. 

A good hand will bore and 
mortise fifteen posts a day with 
these tools. The rails for this 
kind of a fence are split out in 
the woods, 9 1-2 feet long, all 
of the same length. A good 
hand can cut down the tim¬ 
ber and split out one hundred 
of them in a day, in fair timber. 

They are hauled home gener¬ 
ally before being pointed. The 
ends of the rails should fill the 
holes as nearly as possible, so 
as to exclude moisture, the 
tighter the better. Pointing 
the rails is simple work. Two 
short-legged, stout trestles of 
any rough logs are placed 

about eight feet apart, as fig. —shovel, axe and digger. 
shown at Fig. 3, in each of 

which two large wooden pegs are driven to receive the rail, and between 
these pegs the rail is placed, thin edge up, and fastened in between the pegs 
with wedges of wood. They are now sharpened off to about an inch thick 
for six to eight inches, the corners slightly nipped, and the work is done. A 
man will point over two hundred in a day. 

To make holes in the earth, a digger (see Fig. 2) is used. It is about ten 

inches long by five wide, 
made perfectly straight, 
and to weigh, handle and 
all, about twelve pounds. 
It is made of good iron, 
laid with the best steel. 
Any blacksmith can make 
one. They cost about $1.50, 
without handle. The 
handle should he six feet 

pro, 3 .— tkestle for pointing the rails. and heavy. A club at 

one end would do for a ram¬ 
mer to run the dirt in the holes. In making the fence, set the first post 
firmly, an<l slip in one end of the rails, as shown at a, in Fig. 4. After the 
next hole is dug set the next post in, and before you put in the dirt'place the 
other end of the rails in on both sides, and drive; then fill up and ram 
firmly, and so on to the end. Drive the rails with a wooden maul. Never 
use an axe. When you come to a corner, you must have a large post with 






















36 


THE FARM . 


holes in the sides—the other holes only half way through the post—to re¬ 
ceive the turn rails. In dig¬ 
ging the holes, a little prac¬ 
tice will enable you to throw 
out over half of the dirt with 
the digger (see Fig. 2), es¬ 
pecially if the earth is tena¬ 
cious. After that a long- 
handled, small scoop shovel, 
fig. 4.— section of the six rail fence. as shown at d, Fig. 2, will be 

found serviceable. 

We neglected to say that the handle to the auger is about 3 1-2 feet long, 
and can be, as it usually is, fas¬ 
tened on by a blacksmith. The 
square wheel shown in Fig. 5 is 
easily made, and is about 5 feet 
in diameter. The trestle (Fig. 

1) is 3 1-2 feet high. The auger 
is put in the wheel and hung 
on the trestle precisely like an 
ordinary grindstone. As to the 
best materials for this fence, 
black locust is the best for 
posts, mulberry next, then 
white oak. For rails, white 
oak, ash, walnut, and cotton¬ 
wood, in the order named. 

Fence for Marsh or Soft 
Soil —T h e improvement we 
herewith illustrate is designed 
for bracing the common board 
fences built across low, marshy 
ground, that is overflowed at 
every fall of rain. The work, or face side, of the fence is supposed to (and 

should) front up-stream; in 
the rear, and four feet from 
each post, is firmly driven 
into the ground a stake (K), 
left projecting one foot above 
the surface. This stake is 
connected with the fence- 
post by strip (B), as indi¬ 
cated. The strength of the 
fence to resist the force of 
rushing water that may 
come in contact with it is in¬ 
creased tenfold. Where high 
winds are prevalent, fences 
may be braced in this way 
upon the leeward side. 














































FIELD CROPS. 


Wheat. Shocks.—The illustrations portray the various methods prac¬ 
ticed for securing wheat, rye, oats, etc., in shocks, in which position they 
should be arranged. Wheat should be cut from five to ten days before 
maturity—that is, when about one-third of the chaff is yet green, or while 
many of the berries can be mashed between the thumb and finger. The 
points gained thereby are: By thus early reaping the grain is not as Mable to 
be prostrated by rain or high winds, and is not as liable to shell during the 
process of gathering. The grain secured by this process, and at the time 
indicated, is heavier, and 
the flour is better. 

Fig. 1 delineates a large, 
oblong shock which is made 
by placing ten sheaves in a 
double row, the bottom of 
each pair being a foot asun¬ 
der, set bracing and meeting 
at the top, the whole covered 
by two sheaves, whose ends, 
each side of band, are so 
spread that when in position 
they will afford a more 
secure protection from rain, 
and render the liability to 
derangement in high winds 
much less. 

In Fig. 2 is shown a very 
good plan for securing a 
dozen or more sheaves in a round shock. Two caps are used, crossing at 
right angles above the center of the shock. 

Fig. 3 illustrates another mode of capping a round shock. But six 
sheaves should be placed upright in each shock, unless the straw be of extra 
length, as in the case of rye. Bind the caps securely near the butts, break¬ 
ing down all around before placing in proper position. The latter is a mode 
seldom practiced, yet highly recommended by many farmers. Should the 
sheaves be damp or contain slowly drying weeds, shock in the manner shown 
in Fig. 1, which exposes a greater area of each sheaf to the combined in¬ 
fluence of sun and air than by any other known process. 

Harvesting Wheat. —Wheat; when cut before the grain has passed 
from the milk to the dough state, will shrivel and give small measure and 
light Aveight. The straw will be more valuable for fodder, however, than if 
harvested later. On the other hand, if left to become over-ripe, the grains 
grow harsh and rough, and the bran will be so thick and brittle that no after 
manipulation of the kernels will bring the Avheat in condition to make the best 
quality of flour Avithout carrying a large proportion of flour off Avith the bran, 




















38 


THE FARM. 




The cultivator’s safety lies, therefore, between the extremes of early and 
late cutting. In a word, harvest the crop when the grain has passed from 
the milky stage to a doughy one. If the wheat be cut when the grain reaches 
the dough state, the bran will be thin and elastic, and can be separated more 

readily from the flour than 
when dead ripe. In addition 
to the flour being finer, it will 
also be increased in quantity 
in consequence of the bran 
being lighter than when ripe. 
A saving of wheat is likewise 
gained, which otherwise 
would be lost by shelling in 
the field. 

The novice can ascertain 
the exact time when wheat 
and other small grain ought 
to be cut by opening heads 
in different portions of the 
field, and examining the ker¬ 
nels carefully. The straw 
near the ground will also 
proclaim the time for harvest 
by its yellow hue. 

Wheat cut in the dough 
heat shocks.—fig. 2. state ought not to be dried 

suddenly. It may be bound 
and stacked at once, or, if there is only a small quantity, drawn to the barn. 
Some farmers put it into small stacks. If stacked so that the wind and sun 
will not dry up all the juices in the plant, enough of these will be slowly con¬ 
centrated in the seed to accomplish the maturity of the grain in perfection. 
If by rapid ripening in the sun the 
kernels are shrivelled, more bran is 
formed in proportion to the flour. 

A large class of farmers practice 
threshing from the shock and hauling 
grain direct to market. The advan¬ 
tages of this plan vary with the season. 

When the wheat lias been bleached 
out by hot suns and repeated rains, it 
should be stacked and go through the 
“sweat.” During this process the 
straw and grain become damp and 
heat is evolved. At such times the 
grain cannot readily be threshed, 
therefore it is not advisable to attempt 
it until both straw and grain are dry. 

Then it will be found that the berry 
has been restored to color and exhibits a plump appearance, having absorbed 
nutritive matter from the stalk. The grain has not only undergone a change 
for the better, but the straw is also improved in quality. 

It is suggested that farmers take time to look about for extra fine heads 
of wheat for future seed. It will also be wise to carefully note the results of 
















































FIELD CROPS. 


89 


the several vai'ieties grown, with a view to comparing their respective merits, 
and selecting for another year’s crop those sorts which promise best returns. 
v\ hen fertilizers have been used, it will also be well to mark the results. It 
is only by a careful comparison of different plants under different treatments 
that a farmer surely arrives at conclusions which best suit the special require¬ 
ments of his land and his location. 

How to Stack; Straw— We give an illustration showing how straw can 
be stacked so that it will be preserved from spoiling, and at the same time 
answer for a shelter to protect stock from the storms. The pen should be 
two or three logs high (or higher, if the logs are small), and large enough to 
correspond with the quantity of straw. Then set fence rails or poles all 
around inside of the pen, as represented. It can be built at the tail end of 
the threshing machine, so 
that the straw can fall in it. 

It will require less hands to 
stack. 

Draining AV hent 
Fields. —If no other method 
has been devised for drain¬ 
ing wheat fields, which are 
sometimes too wet, it will 
pay to plow furrows from 
the lowest spot to some 
lower point outside. Every 
experienced wheat grower 
knows that if water is al¬ 
lowed to stand upon the 
ground late in the fall, the 
crop will not only be direct¬ 
ly injured thereby, but will 
also be liable to be severely 
damaged by “winter kill¬ 
ing,” and it should be the 
aim to prevent, as far as how to stack straw. 

possible, both of these evils. 

A heavy rain will do little damage to a wheat field if provision is made for 
the prompt removal of the surplus water, while a moderate rainfall upon 
undrained land which is already too wet will cause the destruction of many 
of the plants, and largely reduce the possible yield of the crop. While thor¬ 
ough drainage is much better than any makeshift which can be invented, it 
is much better to adopt the very imperfect plan recommended above than it 
is to make no provision for the protection of the crop from injury by an ex¬ 
cess of moisture in the soil. 

AVeevil in AA T lieat._A correspondent of an agricultural paper says: 
“Some years ago, hearing complaint of Aveevil in wheat about the close of 
harvest, when I was ricking my Avheat, I got fresh slaked lime and threw 
over the rick in building it—laying two courses of sheaves, then lime suffi¬ 
cient to whiten the stack. A neighbor Avho threshed his Avheat from the 
shock came to me a few days after, and said he should lose his Avheat, for it 
was alive with weevil. I told him to throw lime over it, and shovel it through 
his wheat, which he did. Tavo days later there was not a Aveevil seen in it.” 




















40 


THE PA U M. 



Wheat Maxims in Small Compa»:—The following information about 
wheat growing has been condensed: 1. The best soil for wheat is rich clay 
b * loam; 2. Wheat likes a good, 

deep, soft bed; 3. Clover 
turned under makes just 
such a bed; 4. The best seed 
is oily, heavy, plump, and 
clean; 5. About two inches 
is the best depth for sowing 
the seed; G. The drill puts 
in the seed better and 
cheaper than broadcasting; 
7. From the middle of Sep¬ 
tember to the last of Octo¬ 
ber is the best time for sow¬ 
ing; 8. Drilled, one bushel 
of seed per acre; if sown 
broadcast, two bushels per 
acre; 9. One heavy rolling 
after sowing does much 
good; 10. For flour, cut 
when the grain begins to 
harden; for seed, not until 

*"*■ - > ' it has hardened. 

fig. 1. 


An Oliio Corn Crib.— 



We give an illustration (Fig. 1) of a very convenient and substantial double 
corn crib, with a wagon shed between. Such a crib can be built any size, 
and filled with grain, without the least sign of weakness. One is a brace for 
the other, and the more grain you have in it the firmer it will be. It is use¬ 
less to explain how the tim¬ 
bers should be put together, 
and where every door should 
be cut out, when one glance 
at the illustration will an¬ 
swer. Fig. 2 represents the 
double doors made to corre¬ 
spond with the entrance of 
the shed. The doors, when 
shut, are fastened to a piece 
of scantling, standing per¬ 
pendicular — one entering 
the beam, the other enter¬ 
ing a block put in the 
ground. The foundation 
can be of wood or stone, as 
suits best. This is what we 
call the “Ohio Dutch Yan¬ 
kee corn crib.” 


Hilling Injurious to 
Corn. — Careful experi¬ 
ments have proved that corn which is hilled will blow down more readily 
than that which has level culture. This can be accounted for by the fact 

















































































































Pie Li) crops. 


a 


that com roots run very near the surface, and when hills are made they are 
confined to the small space covered by the hill; while in level culture the 
roots run from one row to the other, thus enabling the corn to stand strong, 
as nature intended, and in no way liable to be blown down, except by winds 
of unusual violence. 

A Convenient Corn Crib. —We illustrate a very convenient style of corn 
crib, which, while costing but a mere trifle more than an ordinary crib, pos¬ 
sesses some of the main advantages of a corn house; namely, a space pro¬ 
tected from the weather sufficient to accommodate a team with a wagon load 
of corn. At the proper season the grain may be shelled therein, and it is an 
excellent place to shelter a lumber wagon. The plan needs but little expla¬ 
nation. It is simply two cribs placed side by side, and facing each other. 
The cribs and space between them are covered by one roof. The cribs 
should be about four feet wide at the bottom, and grow broader as they rise, 
the taper being on the outside; the projecting roof throws the water clear of 



the crib. The height should be sufficient to allow easy shoveling of the 
corn from the wagon into the top of the crib. If one wishes to make it rat- 
proof, it may be elevated on posts, capped with inverted tin pans; but in 
that case it would hardly do to store tools in it. Some would suggest a floor 
and doors, which can easily be added to the plan, if desired. The best ma¬ 
terial is sawed scantlings for a frame, and three or four-inch-wide strips for 
siding. The roof may be made of matched boards. In case it should be 
determined to floor and hang doors, it would be well to board up the inside 
of the crib with matched stuff to the height of the eaves. 

Seed Corn. —No one will deny that great care should be observed in se¬ 
lecting seed corn to plant, and yet numbers of farmers never see their seed 
corn until it is carried to the field at planting-time. We think the best plan 
is to place a barrel in a corner of the crib, and throw in it every large and 
vigorous ear. Shell off about two inches of the large ends, in order to get 
the largest and most prolific grains. This produces a large and healthy 
plant, that grows much faster than small ones do. Many farmers may think 
it quite a tedious job to select every ear of corn planted in this way; but they 














































THE FA Ti M. 


42 

will not find it so after giving it a trial, and selecting as much as possible on 

rainy days. This plan, once 
adopted, will ever be adhered 
to afterward. Try it; you will 
not regret it, but find it re¬ 
munerative. 

Cheap Corn Cribs.— 

There are many farmers who 
follow a mixed husbandry, 
and who raise comparatively 
small quantities of corn, who 
cannot afford to pay much for 
structures used for this pur¬ 
pose. For such we herewith 
give directions, accompanied 
with drawings, showing how 
a cheap and yet suitable crib 
may be made. 

The elevation (Fig. 1) is 
an excellent crib. The sills 
are four by six inches, framed; 
if only a small crib is needed, it will only be necessary to bore two-inch 
holes at each corner, and one intermediate, and insert sharpened sticks 
three inches square, to which secure slats horizontally, three-quarters of an 



CORN CRIBS.—FIG. 2. 



CORN CRIBS.—FIG. 1. - 


inch apart. As this structure has but one door, it is best to divide the room 
in two parts, the best or sound corn to be put in the near compartment, and 
the poor corn in front, where it may be first fed out. A still cheaper plan 



CORN CRIBS.—FIG. 3. 


of construction is to use poles or small logs, secured together in the form 
shown in Fig. 2. This is an exceedingly cheap and expeditious manner of 
constructing a corn crib. If properly done, it will last for years, is easy of 







































FIELD CROPS. 43 

access, and, with a good cover, corn will keep in it as well as in those more 
expensive. 

•^e>* ^ gives a side view of a crib constructed of poles or logs, showing the 
manner of splicing at A, A, the logs midway between the supports. Pin or 
nail the logs at the point of joining. In this way log cribs several hundred 
feet in length are often constructed. 

Tlie Enemies of Corn—Its enemies in the field, the bin, and the mill 
are numerous. Among its bird foes the crow is most dreaded by the 
farmer. Ho is a bold, saucy fellow, well endowed with bird sense, and soon 
sees a scare-crow is a humbug. The common devices used for this purpose 
—an open newspaper, bright tin, a clapping wind-mill, an effigy, etc., are 
effective only for a short time, when something new must be found. A prac¬ 
tical farmer suggests that early planting will circumvent him, since he is not 
particularly an early bird. Another claims that the use of a planter which 
covers the seed and presses down the earth upon it has been a perfect de¬ 
fense for him. He has seen twenty crows pulling away after the corn had 
got above the ground, and found they had nipped the tops off, yet could not 
get the kernel up. 

Great damage is often done to the corn crop by a corn-worm (Helioihns 
Armiga), identical with the boll-worm, so injurious to the cotton crop. The 
parent of the worm is a moth of brownish-yellow color, with dark brown or 
black markings. The caterpillar is green with black stripes and dark spots, 
and is covered with hairs. When full grown it measures about one and one- 
half inches. It is extremely voracious, though not particularly dainty, since 
it eats whatever comes in its way. Peas, stringed beans, tomatoes, pump¬ 
kins, cotton or corn are all one to his greedy appetite. The moth deposits its 
eggs upon the corn silk, and the young caterpillars soon work their way 
down to the tender kernel. When the caterpillar attains its full size it 
descends into the soil a few inches and there weaves its cocoon. Two or 
more broods are produced each year. Birds and parasites destroy this 
insect both as worm and moth. Men destroy it by means of torches, lamps 
and lanterns, sometimes arranged over dishes of oil or water, into which it 
falls and drowns. Plates of vinegar and molasses put among the corn will 
entrap many of them. 

Aphis Maidis, a little plant louse, infests corn and lives upon its juices. 
The eggs, which are laid in the ground, hatch in May, when the lice gather 
upon the roots, and here remain until the roots harden so that they are 
driven to the stem and tassels, where they are found in great numbers about 
July. Their presence can be easily detected by an army of red ants dancing 
attendance upon them, since they wear two black honey-tubes standing up 
like horns on the upper and hinder part of the abdomen, which secrete a 
saccharine fluid, of which the ants are very fond. They have a curious 
history of reproduction. The female deposits her eggs in the ground and 
dies. The brood are wingless females, and without the intervention of the 
male bring forth alive another female brood. 

These do likewise, and so continue for five or six or more generations. 
The last brood are both males and females. These pair again, and deposit 
their eggs, which remain over winter in the ground, and the next spring 
begin the same round over again. It is claimed that nothing but cropping 
against them is of any avail. 

The corn-stalk borer is a comparatively new enemy, or, at any rate, has 
been only lately described. The moth is of an ashy-gray color, and probabl e 


THE FARM. 


44 

lays her eggs near the base of the leaf where the leaf is sheathed around the 
stalk. The worm is orange yellow, with rows of reddish warts, and a flat, 
black head, with which it bores its way into the stalk. It sheds its skin four 
times before it attains full growth. The cocoon is woven within the stalk, 
and the moth makes its exit through the holes bored by the worm. Three or 
more broods are produced each year. It hibernates in stalks and stubble. 
The stalks not eaten by stock should be burned early in February, and the 
stubble should be plowed up and burned, or plowed under very deeply. 

Curing Corn Fodder. —Much com fodder is spoiled while being cured. 
A good way to prevent this is to set firmly in the ground a small stake or 
large-sized bean-pole, around which a few armfuls of corn is set, and bound 
securely near the top. This makes a firm center around which to build. 
Then set up more corn, placing it evenly all around, and leaning it no more 
than is necessary to have it stand. When enough is placed to make a large 
stock, all that can cure, draw a rope, with a slip noose in one end, around 
the stock as tight as convenient, using a step-ladder to stand upon if the corn 
is very tall. An assistant can now bind with a straw band or with selected 
stalks, after which the rope may be removed. If doing the work alone, the 
rope can be tied while the band is being put on. Corn fodder well put up in 
this way may be kept, if desired, in the field till winter. 

Saving Seed Corn. —To save seed corn successfully in a cold climate, 
you should not keep it in a warm place, or especially where it is warm but a 
part of the time, as there is danger that the changes of temperature may de¬ 
stroy the germinative power. Continued warmth is also conducive to de¬ 
composition, which will destroy the life of the seed. Corn and similar seeds 
are best kept in a dry, cool room, where the temperature is uniform. When 
your seed from the “small pile over the living-room” failed to germinate, 
the cause was probably due to both dampness and warmth, wdiich incited 
incipient decay. Seeds differ greatly in the degree of cold they will endure 
without losing vitality. Corn has germinated after having been subjected to 
the most intense cold of the polar regions, and an experiment is reported in 
which other seeds genninated after having been frozen into a cake of ice. 

Corn Culture. —“The suckers,” says H. M. Engle, in a prize essay, 
“ should, under all circumstances, be taken off before they appropriate too 
much substance which the main stalks should receive, but under no circum¬ 
stances allow suckers to tassel, for, whatever pains may be taken to bring or 
keep corn at its greatest perfection by selection of seed, the pollen from the 
sucker may undo what has been gained by years of careful selection. I 
would as soon think of breeding from a scrub male to a thoroughbred ani¬ 
mal as to have the pollen from suckers cast upon an excellent variety of 
corn. It is also well known that the pollen from a neighboring field is oft- 
times carried to an almost incredible distance, and consequently may cause 
more mixture than is desirable.” 

Points on Corn. —Deep plowing among growing corn after the roots 
have met in the rows is disastrous; “root pruning” is a mistake; to break 
the roots checks the growth, and in hot, dry weather deep cultivation will 
surely cause the corn to curl, showing injuring and suffering, while shallow 
working will keep it fresh and green. As soon as a crust is formed on the 
soil, it should be broken up to admit both moisture and air, for the one dis¬ 
solves the fertilizing matter which is in the soil, and the latter effects its de- 


FIELD CHOPS. 


45 


composition and renders it soluble. So that after a rain, which has crusted 
the sui'face, the cultivator should be started as soon as the soil is dry enough; 
this tends to hold the moisture and prevent speedy evaporation. 

Raising Good Corn in a Dry Season. —“Some Yankee,” says a prac¬ 
tical farmer, “ will ask, ‘ How do you raise good corn in a drouth?’ I’ll tell. 
I plowed and rolled my ground, spread my manure on, and harrowed it in; 
put a handful of hen manure and fine bone composted in the hill; cultivated 
it flat; did not hill any. When the drouth came, cultivated, but very shal¬ 
low; the result was a good crop. On another plot the manure was spread 
on the sod and turned under without any fertilizer in the hill, and was al¬ 
most a failure. My neighbors report that they have very fair corn on land 
that the manure was spread on after plowing and fertilizing in the hill.” 

Husking. —Some people who husk com throw the shock upon the 
ground, spread it out, and go to work on their knees. They know no better. 
If they will make a frame four feet wide and long enough to hold a shock 
after it is spread out, with a board in the middle running lengthways to sit 
on, they will find they have done a sensible thing. The frame may be eigh¬ 
teen inches high, or any other height they may like better. 

Cabbages with Corn._A writer in the Fruit Recorder says that one of 
his neighbors planted some cabbage among his corn where the corn missed, 
and the butterflies did not find them. He has therefore come to the conclu¬ 
sion that if the cabbage patch were in the middle of the corn patch, the but¬ 
terflies would not find them, as they fly low and like plain sailing. 

Potato Culture. —Destroying the potato beetle, says the American Cul¬ 
tivator , and its even more destructive larvae, has come to be the most im¬ 
portant point in the successful growing of potatoes. Paris green is the com¬ 
mon agent employed, though London purple is cheaper, equally effective, 
and has the advantage, when used with water, of being soluble, while Paris 
green, under similar conditions, is insoluble. It does not follow, however, 
because these poisons will do the work, that every grower can make them 
equally effective. In their indiscriminate use the inexperienced cultivator 
is liable to do more harm than good. The young potato shoot is*very tender, 
and either Paris green or London purple applied in too strong doses will 
burn the vines. If the vines be injured at this early stage of their growth 
from any cause, the resultant crop will be greatly diminished. 

For nearly all early planted potatoes, when the vine grows slowly, hand 
picking to destroy the first crop of beetles is very important. It should be 
performed as soon as the shoots are up, and, if possible, before any eggs are 
laid. In a potato-growing section, where old beetles from last year’s hatch 
appear by the thousands, this indeed involves considerable labor. In fact, 
in such a locality it is not easy to grow early potatoes on a large scale. 
From a few short rows in a garden we have picked up by count between 
eight hundred and nine hundred beetles on a warm, sunshiny half-day, just 
as the potatoes were coming up. The next day the process was repeated, 
with nearly half as many beetles secured, while more or less in number 
were gathered every subsequent day for a week. It was just at the time the 
beetles were coming out of the ground, and the garden potatoes being early 
planted, attracted all the beetles in the neighborhood. It is of little avail to 
attempt to poison these beetles in the spring. Occasionally one will eat as 
expected, but the majority are too busy propagating and laying eggs to 


46 


THE FARM. 


attend to anything else. It is the fact that beetles are very numerous in 
spring, together with the difficulty in destroying them by poison, which 
frightens so many from the business. The inexperienced grower is apt, as 
soon as he finds his vines infested, to prepare a dose of poison, making it of 
very great strength, so as to make certain of killing the enemy. In nine 
cases out of ten the tender vines are injured, and the beetles are seldom 
appreciably diminished in numbers. With close hand picking at first, and a 
reserving of the poison until the larvae make their appearance, the result is 
very different and much more satisfactory. 

The main crop of potatoes should be planted late—that is, if large quan¬ 
tities are to be grown. Planting a few in the garden or somewhere else, as 
a bait to draw the first beetles, greatly lessens the subsequent work. Even 
iu the same field the potato beetle is more destructive on some varieties 
than on others. Those who have grown the Magnum Bonum say it is 
especially liable to attack. Grown alongside other varieties, the bugs sin¬ 
gled out this, while the others largely escaped. It has been suggested that 
one or two rows of this kind be planted around the potato field as a protec¬ 
tion to the main crop. On the other hand, it is said the Early Gem is 
especially distasteful to the bugs. There is probably some difference in the 
comparative liability of different varieties to this insect attack. We have 
generally found, however, that the larger growing varieties and the strongest 
hills of the same variety are least injured. It is possible to plant on highly- 
manured ground, with seed so vigorous that its rapid growth will largely 
reduce the cost of fighting the bugs. The female beetle instinctively chooses 
a vine that is a feeble grower on which to deposit her eggs. Where the vine 
is full of sap, either the eggs will not be laid or many of them will fail to 
hatch. We hope very much, from the results of recent experiments, in dis¬ 
covering the true way to cut potato seed. If the proper cutting of potato 
seed will insure greater vigor or growth, many of the difficulties in fighting 
the potato beetle will be overcome. 

It should not be forgotten that the potato grower has insect friends as 
well as enemies. All kinds of lady-bugs eat the eggs of the potato beetle. 
It is the abundance of these lady-bugs about old apple orchards that often 
makes potato growing successful near an orchard when the field crop will be 
entirely destroyed. There are several varieties of insects that prey on the 
potato larvae. Farmers who use no poison sometimes find dead potato bug 
larvae on their vines. These dead specimens should always be left undis¬ 
turbed, as in all probability they are filled with eggs of the parasite that has 
destroyed them, only needing opportunity to hatch and continue the good 
work. On general principles, if any insect is found in the potato field whose 
habits are not known, it is best to leave it undisturbed, since it is quite 
probably a friend engaged in destroying the farmer’s enemies. Entomolo¬ 
gists have discovered thirty or more insect enemies of the potato bug in its 
various stages of growth, and there are probably others not yet known. But 
for these friendly insects difficulties in growing potatoes would be much 
greater than those which now prevail. 

Phosphate for Potatoe s.—Wm. T. Woeraer, of New Brunswick, N. J., 
writes: “In planting potatoes I have used no other manure than phosphate 
of some reliable brand, for the last ten years, and in that time I have not had 
a grub-eaten potato where I put the phosphate. All my potatoes grow as 
smooth as a bottle, and of a large, salable size. I never use stable manure 
of any kind on potatoes now. I would not put it on if it was given to me, 


FIELD CROPS. 


47 

and I had to pay fifty dollars per ton for phosphate. My neighbors have 
tried it with a like result. It is a very cheap fertilizer; on good ground 1 
only use about two bags per acre (400 lbs.), which is a good manuring on 
ordinary soil. I have raised four hundred bushels to the acre with nothing 
but phosphate, applied in the row.” 

A Handy “ Bug-Catcher.” —Although it is now the custom of most of 
our farmers to rid their crops of that terrible pest, the potato bug, by Paris 
green poisoning, still we think the following illustrated sketch of a bug- 
catcher, sent by a gentleman who has used the contrivance with great suc¬ 
cess, will prove interesting and profitable to our readers. He says: “ With 
the pan I use for catching Colorado beetles, any one can do as much work as 
three or four people collecting the pests, according to the ordinary method 


CONTRIVANCE FOR CATCHING THE POTATO BEETLE. 

of hand picking. The pan is made of tin, and any tinman can fashion it. It 
is a box or pan, two feet long, one foot wide, and six inches deep. The bot¬ 
tom should be round, or cylindrical, so that the rim of the pan can be got 
close to the ground when the vines are small. Stiffen the edge with wire. 
On the inside, at the top, solder a rim or flange about three-quarters of an 
inch wide. This should slant downward somewhat, as its object is to pre¬ 
vent the ‘ bugs 5 from crawling out when once they have gone in. On one 
side of the pan solder or rivet a handle, sueh as those on common tin milk- 
pails. On the same side as the handle solder a shield of tin eighteen inches 
high, and of the same length as the pan, slanting backward a little. The 
edges should be stiffened with wire. About four inches from the top of the 
shield, and in the center, solder a loop or ring large enough to admit the 
arm. to the shoulder. In using, insert the left arm through the loop, and 




















48 


THE FARM. 


grasp the lower handle with the hand, then, holding the pan close np to the 
vines and near the ground, with a crooked stick, like the one represented, 
gather the vines over the pan, giving them a smart shake against the shield 
and over the pan. A good, active man, with this contrivance, can ‘ bug ’ 
an acre of potatoes effectively in two hours.” 

Tlie Potato Disease. —There are many devices suggested for avoiding 
the disease known as potato rot. There is one made by an English writer, 
who says it has been found that “ by hilling the plants up very high as 
soon as the blight appears, the spores are prevented in a great measure 
from being washed down by the rains, and the rot consequently much di¬ 
minished. It was found that although the spores were readily washed 
downward through one or two inches of earth, they very rarely reached a 
depth of five inches. The experiment was repeated many times with the 
uniform result that where the plants were not hilled up, and the tubers lay 
but one or two inches deep, the percentage of rot was very large. But 
where the tubers were covered to the depth of five inches, the damage from 
the disease was inconsiderable.” If a physician were to say to a patient 
having the small-pox that if the lower part of the body were swathed in 
wet sheets the disease would not get down to the legs and feet, it would be 
a parallel suggestion to this. The rot is a disease which infects the whole 
plant. It has been found that when the disease began in the tops at a late 
stage of the growth, mowing off the diseased tops saved the tubers. Tliis is 
something like amputating a gangrened limb to save the body, and is a rea¬ 
sonable remedy. But the spores are not always, and are in fact rarely, ripe 
at the season of growth, and are generally in the soil and infect the plant 
from the roots. The tubers are not roots, but stems, and receive the infec¬ 
tion from the roots when the source of it is in the soil. When the leaves are 
infected by spores, carried in the air from distant fields, where they have re¬ 
mained during the resting season, the disease spreads through the tissues 
of the plant and reaches the tubers in that way, from within, and not from 
without. The spores are not free until the plant decays, being set free by 
the decomposition of the diseased tissues. This being distinctly known, it 
becomes of the greatest importance to destroy the infected vines by burning 
them, and thus preventing the soil from infection by the matured spores in 
the leaves and stems. Earthing up the potatoes might possibly have helped 
to preserve the tubers from the disease by removing the water from the 
saturated soil; this water being injurious to the plant and producing all the 
conditions favorable to the spread of the disease. A more healthful condi¬ 
tion of the plants would tend to prevent this unhealthful condition and con¬ 
fine the disease to the leaves and stems, and save the tubers. But every 
one who has had diseased potatoes, knows that tubers, apparently sound 
when dug, will rot in the cellar. This is because the disease is already in 
them when they are dug, and develops in them in the course of time from 
the infection. Earthing up cannot save them then, nor can it at any other 
time, excepting through its influence in the way we have pointed out. But 
here, where our seasons are not so wet, it would not avail us as it might the 
farmers of sodden England or Scotland or Ireland, where “ the rain it rain- 
eth every day,” more or less. This difference of climate is very important to 
be remembered when considering such matters as this from an English view. 

Methods of Raising Potatoes—There is, writes a practical farmer, a 
great variety of opinion in regard to raising potatoes, size of seed, and culti- 


FIELD CROPS. 


49 


vation. Some advocate large, while others prefer small potatoes for seed, 
thinking that they are as good or better than large ones. They may raise 
good crops from small seed for one or two years, but if they do not obtain 
their seed from those that do take pains to select large seed, I think they 

- will soon find their potatoes run out and become small. Why do we select 
a nice, well-shaped ear of corn for seed, not always the largest, but the best 
developed? Also, why screen wheat, oats, etc., to secure the plumpest and 

, best seed to plant or sow ? (At least we should if we do not.) We thereby 
raise a better quality of grain, and more of it, from year to year. I do not 
wish any one to infer that Ave should take the largest potatoes for seed, but 
those of a good marketable size, of nice shape, free from warts, scabs or 
other deformity. 

Having my seed selected, I cut them to single eyes, or at most two, and 
plant them in drills three feet apart, and fifteen inches apart in the drills, 

- having the drills deep, in well-plowed and thoroughly pulverized soil. I 
prefer a piece that had corn on the previous year, well manured and plowed 
in for that crop, and kept under good cultivation during the season. On po¬ 
tatoes I use some good commercial fertilizer that has plenty of potash in it, 
and use it liberally—400 to 500 pounds per acre. This will help keep the 

- wire-worms away, and will increase the potatoes in size and quality, I am 
quite certain. I harrow, as soon as I see the first plants breaking the 
ground, with a smoothing harrow, to kill all the weeds that may have 
started. I cultivate often, whether there are any weeds or not, until they 
are in blossom. I have never failed to raise a good crop of nice smooth po¬ 
tatoes, and there was always a ready market for them. I often get consid¬ 
erable more than market price for them, which is quite an advantage in a 
plentiful season. My crop averaged about 500 bushels per acre last sea¬ 
son. 

How to Keep Sweet Potatoes. —A Texas writer says: I would like to 
give my plan for keeping sweet potatoes. I think the most essential thing 
is to dig them at the proper time, and I think that time is about the full 
moon in October (that is, in Texas). No matter about the weather, unless 
the ground is too wet. I never wait for frost; but if frost comes before the 
full moon, dig as soon as possible, or at least before any rain. I dig with a 
bull-tongue plow; but any way, so they are not cut or bruised too much, 
will do. In gathering them, sort out the cut ones; but before putting up 
let them have at least one day’s sun. If the ground is wet, two days is 
better; but in no case let them take the dew of the night. I put them in a 
shallow cellar under some house, say from three to four feet deep. After 
they are put away, throw a little fine, dry dirt over them, just enough to 
dust over the cuts. That will cause them to dry and not commence rotting. 
Let them lay that way till the weather begins to turn cool. Then begin to 
cover up as the weather gets colder, till they are from ten to twelve inches 
deep; in all cases cover with dry dirt. I differ with those who want straw 
or leaves under potatoes; I want them on the ground. 

When they are banked outdoors they should be on an elevated place, or 
throw up the dirt so water will not stand about them. Put the potatoes on 
the naked ground, about twenty-five or thirty bushels in a bank; set up corn 
stalks around them; then throw some grass or leaves on the stalks; bank up 
enough of dirt against the stalks to hold them. Let them stand that way 
till the weather begins to get cool; then begin to cover. When the weather 
^ets very cold they should be covered at Je^st twelve inches; but in warm 


50 


THE FARM. 


weather they should have a little air at the top. In all cases have them 
well sheltered; a very small leak will ruin a bank of potatoes. 

Points About Potatoes. —In the judgment of the South Deerfield 
(Mass.) Farmers’ Club, potatoes, when properly cared for, are, next to 
tobacco, the best paying crop a farmer can raise. The trouble is, potatoes 
are too often neglected and receive attention only when other crops are 
cared for. Turf land is the best, except in very dry seasons. Plow in the 
fall and harrow in a good coat of manure in the spring. Furi’ow out, and 
in the hills apply ashes and tobacco stalks cut abo\it six inches long, at 
the rate of sixteen loads per acre. Twelve hundred pounds of fish and 
potash to the acre, harrowed in, with a little phosphate in the hill, produced 
a good crop. 

More attention should be given to selectmg good seed potatoes. Use 
good-sized smooth tuber cut into four pieces. Change the seed eveiy year 
or two. The Early Rose is the best kind for home use. Peerless, Beauty of 
Hebron, and Burbank Seedling give larger yields, but are inferior in quality. 
The Snowflake bakes Avell. Early Vermont resembles Early Rose, and is 
better in yield and quality. 

Hoeing potatoes is best done with a horse-hoe or tobacco-ridger. Go 
through the piece three times with a horse-hoe, and you wouldn’t need to 
put a hoe into it; that is, on smooth land free of stones. To get ahead of the 
bugs, cover the potato tops about an inch deep as soon as they are up; in 
about a week cut a lot of small potatoes into four or more pieces and wet 
them and sprinkle Paris green on them, stirring well until the pieces are 
covered with it; scatter these pieces over the field, and the beetle will eat 
them and die. If all do not partake of this wholesome diet and slugs ap¬ 
pear, apply Paris green mixed with plaster. Potatoes are a paying crop at 
fifty or sixty cents a bushel, and the small ones are excellent to feed hogs, 
stock, and horses. 

Getting Potatoes Early. —Some years ago, writes a correspondent of 
the Gardener's Monthly, I conceived the idea of planting my potatoes with 
shoots to them. Probably the sprouts suggested the idea; at any rate I car¬ 
ried out the plan, and have been so well pleased with it that I have followed 
it out for three years. A few weeks before planting time I select my seed 
potatoes, and set them in a warm place to sprout. By the time my ground 
is ready the shoots are about three inches in length. The potatoes are 
handled carefully, so as not to break the gi*owth, and cut up in suitable 
sizes, as in the ordinary way. One strong shoot is left to each piece. The 
sets must be put into the ground carefully, of course, or the shoots will be 
broken off. As growth commences at once, the green tops show in a few 
days. There is easily a saving of two weeks time at the start. Those who 
have rather a low ground, which cannot be worked very early in spring, as 
I have, will find this method will enable them to compete with their neigh¬ 
bors on higher ground, with success. By July 10th, I was using fine Beauty 
of Hebrons (an excellent early sort by the way), planted April 25th. They 
were not then fully ripe, though the yellow tint in the leaves was getting 
quite perceptible. Generally the tops are dead at this date, but an unusu¬ 
ally fine potato season kept them growing later this year. 

liaising Potatoes— The following suggestions are from a practical 
farmer: I select a piece of suitable ground in the fall. Sod is best. Ma¬ 
nure it heavily with good barnyard manure, and plow under so as to let the 


FIELD CROPS. 


51 


sod rot before cold weather; then in the spring I manure with well-routed 
manure on the surface, and harrow thoroughly till the manure is com¬ 
pletely incorporated with the soil; then I mark one way three feet apart 
and plant two pieces in a place about one foot apart, about four inches deep. 
Then, just as the potatoes begin to break ground, I harrow thoroughly, then 
cultivate till it is time to lay by; then I use a single-shovel plow to hill them 
with; keep all weeds down—they are death to potatoes. I have raised from 
450 to 500 bushels to the acre in favorable seasons. 

Now, as to the seed: I cut to a single eye; I would as soon think of plant • 
ing a whole ear of corn in a hill as a whole potato. I have often, in case of a 
new kind, cut the eye cluster into three or four pieces, and had a good hill 
from each piece. As to time of planting, I always try to get my whole crop 
in for early potatoes. I believe the earlier they can be got in the more cer¬ 
tainty of a good crop. As to kinds, I have raised legions of them, but for 
early, the Beauty of Hebron; for medium, the Burbank’s Seedling and the 
Mammoth Pearl; and for late, the Belle and the Late Rose. Of course, 
others are good and may do better in other places. 

New Remedy for Potato Bugs. —A farmer successfully tried a remedy 
for potato bugs, as follows: He procured a number of boards and placed 
them here and there among his potatoes, and on these boards were placed 
raw potatoes sliced. At noon on the first day of the experiment he and his 
hired men found every piece of potato covered with bugs. The men killed 
this crop, and at night another crop was killed, though not so large, and in' 
a week not a bug could be seen, and his trouble with bugs after this was 
comparatively small. He thinks it would be a good plan to dip the pieces 
of potato in Paris green, as it would save the work of killing the bugs. 

Potatoes in Winter. —Potatoes stored in cellars, in some cases, rot. 
To check or prevent this, keep the cellar as cool as possible without freez¬ 
ing. Then scatter quick-lime over them. This is of threefold benefit. It 
keeps them from rotting, makes the potatoes dryer and better, and disin¬ 
fects the atmosphere, preserving the family from malarial fevers. 

Experiments in Plowing. —Mr. Knox, a veteran plow-maker, has 
called our attention to the effect of deep plowing of some soils to offset 
the danger from lack of rains in dry seasons. Some years ago an experi¬ 
ment was made by a Western Massachusetts farmer in plowing portions of a 
large field at varying depths. One part was turned over seven inches deep, 
another ten inches, and a third, after being plowed ten inches, was sub¬ 
soiled to the depth of ten inches more, making a soil comparatively loose 
to the depth of twenty inches. The next year, which was a dry one during 
the summer, corn was grown upon the whole field, which was treated uni¬ 
formly throughout, and the yield of the three divisions carefully measured. 
The seven-inch plowing yielded as well as the ordinary fields in the vicinity. 
That part plowed ten inches deep was greener all through the season, and 
gave decidedly better yield, but that which was plowed ten inches, and sub¬ 
soiled ten inches in addition, produced just one-third more corn than that 
plowed in the usual way, seven inches deep. The next year the whole field 
was by agreement sowed to oats, as a continuation of the experiment, the 
season proving even drier than the preceding one, when corn was grown. 
When the oats were about ready to cut, Mr. Knox, being in the neighbor¬ 
hood, called to see them. Before reaching the farm, the field came in 
view from the cay windows and Mr. Knox, who was on the lookout, said to 


52 


THE FA R M. 


a companion, that the gentleman had not done as he agreed, for he could see 
that he had sown different kinds of grain upon the different plots, the size 
and color of the growth both marking the lines, dividing the land plowed at 
three different depths. But on arriving at the field he found nothing but 
oats, and as stated by the owner, all sown on the same day, and treated pre¬ 
cisely alike in every respect. 

On the shallow plowed section, the growth was short and the straw yel¬ 
low; on the ten-inch plowing the oats were taller and less yellow, while on 
the sub-soiled portion they were green and very heavy. The final tests 
showed full one-third more grain on the sub-soiled part than on that which 
was plowed only seven inches deep. 

Now, it will not do for farmers to calculate that deeply stirring every kind 
of soils would alone add fifty per cent, in the yield of crops grown upon 
them the following two years, for they would doubtless be disappointed in 
very many cases. Yet, as a rule, a deep, mellow soil from which surplus 
water can readily settle without making the land into mortar, and through 
which the same moisture can again freely rise by capillary attraction, other 
things being equal, will always bring a farmer the better results. 

There are soils which naturally are never too wet, and rarely too dry, and 
it will usually be found on examination, that they are in the same mechani¬ 
cal condition for a considerable depth, say two feet or more, that one likes to 
have his surface soil, light, friable, and containing a due proportion of vege¬ 
table matter. They will also be found to contain sand and clay in about the 
right proportion to keep the soil both mellow and moist through the varying 
climatic conditions. Deep plowing of stiff' clays is often dangerous at first; 
but a good dry soil suits all kinds of crops in all kinds of Aveather. Deep 
plowing tends to make such a soil, but this alone will not always be sufficient. 
Draining and manuring must accompany deep plowing. 

Early or L.a1e Fall Plowing —There is this against early fall plow¬ 
ing, that it favors the springing up of grass and w T eeds, which necessitates re¬ 
plowing in the spring. The fall rains, should they be heavy, will pack the 
surface of clay soil, which the frost that folloAvs does not always relieve, and 
never if pressed during the winter by a deep snow. This not only compels 
plowing in the spring, but the soil then turns up rough, and generally too 
wet and sticky, and also it is necessarily done late in the season, so that fall 
plowing, instead of benefiting, hurts it, and the crop for the season is lost or 
seriously affected—the land showing it for a year or two more. But as the 
season is now advanced, there is little danger from the rains; the land wo\ild 
rather be benefited by them. Late plowing, therefore, is in order. Land 
ordinarily the Avettest can uoav be plowed to the greatest advantage. It 
requires more poAver to break it, but the improved condition in the spring 
will more than pay the expense. This is a point not sufficiently considered. 

If late fall plowing is an advantage, better still if it can be done in Avinter 
or early in spring, so as to be followed by freezing and thawing. My best 
success has been obtained by Avinter and early spring plowing. Yet there is 
hardly a year in which one of the three seasons—either late in the fall, during 
the Avinter or early in the spring—is not available. To make as sure as pos¬ 
sible, do the work in the fall, if the ground Avill admit, but avoid making 
mortar. The same applies to winter and early spring. 

Other soils, especially the sand and leachy shales, have less to fear 
from Avater; they are also less benefited by the frost. They are the soils, 
therefore, that may be left unplowed till spring. One of the difficulties Avith 


PI Eli) CROPS; S3 

spring plowing is that it does not allow of the winter application of manure, 
should it be required, though with an early spring and favorable weather, 
this may he done without interfering much with the work which usually 
requires all the time. The aim should be always to get the plowing done 
near to winter (or in it) as possible, so as to get the benefit of the freezing 
and thawing, and avoid the packing of the heavy rains. 

THe Philosophy of Hoeing. —It may be overdone or underdone. There 
is reason in everything, “even in roasting eggs,” as the saying is. So in 
hoeing crops. If we hoe up the soil in large lumps, as we are apt to do with 
the very serviceable modern prong-hoes, we let the keen, dry air into con¬ 
tact with the starting but enfeebled roots, and, by their parching, an irre¬ 
parable injury is done. Such lumps should be crushed down so as to be 
permeable to air throughout, and yet serve to protect the roots from its free 
sweep. But, as in avoiding Scylla we may run to wreck on Charybdis, so, in 
crushing the soil, we may make it too fine, in which case the first heavy rain 
will run the surface together in a crust impervious to the air, and, for want 
of enough of air, essential to active root action, growth will be checked until 
the hoe or its equivalent is used. 

Quantity of Seed to an Acre. —The following should be kept for 
reference: “Barley, broadcast, two to three bushels; bean, pole, in hills, 
ten to twelve quarts; beets, in drills, five to six pounds; broom corn, in hills, 
eight to ten quarts; buckwheat, one bushel; cabbage, in beds, to transplant, 
half pound; carrots, in drills, three to four pounds; Chinese sugar cant- 
twelve quarts; clover, red, alone, fifteen to twenty pounds; clover, alsike. 
alone, eight to ten pounds; clover, lucerne or alfalfa, twenty pounds; corn, 
in hills, eight to ten quarts; corn for soiling, three bushels; cucumber, in 
hills, two pounds; flax, broadcast, one and one-half bushels; grass, Ken¬ 
tucky blue, three bushels; grass, orchard, three bushels; grass, English rye, 
two bushels; grass, red top, three bushels; grass, timothy, one-half bushel; 
grass, Hungarian, one bushel; grass, mixed lawn, four bushels; hemp, one 
and one-half bushels; mustard, broadcast, half bushel; melon, musk, in 
hills, two to three pounds; melon, water, in hills, four to five pounds; millet, 
common, broadcast, one bushel; oats, broadcast, two to three bushels; 
onion, in drills, five to six pounds; onion for sets, in drills, thirty pounds; 
onion, sets, in drills, six to twelve bushels; parsnips, in drills, four to six 
pounds; peas, in drills, one and one-half bushels; peas, broadcast, three 
bushels; potatoes (cut tubers), ten bushels; pumpkin, in hills, four to six 
pounds; radish, in drills, eight to ten pounds; rye, broadcast, one and one- 
half to two bushels; salsify, in drills, eight to ten pounds; spinach, in drills, 
twelve to fifteen pounds; sage, in drills, eight to ten pounds; squash, bush 
varieties, in hills, four to six pounds; squash, running varieties, hills, three 
to four pounds; tomatoes, to transplant, quarter pound; turnip, in drills, one 
pound; turnip, broadcast, half pound; vetches, broadcast, two to three 
bushels; and wheat broadcast, one and one-lialf to two bushels.” 

Sosiktng Seeds—I am often asked, writes a New England agriculturist, 
whether it does any good to soak seeds before sowing them ? In general I 
believe it does more harm than good, and if done at all, a good deal of 
judgment should be used to prevent mischief. Thus peas, beans and corn 
are often soaked to hasten germination with the belie! that they will come a 
day or two earlier, but in case the weather is cold and wet for some time 
after sowing the seed, it will be more likely to sutler injury from the weather 


54 


THE FARM, 


than if sown dry. Especially is this true of the McLean pea and other deli¬ 
cate green peas, and of the various kinds of sweet corn. When the weather 
is dry and hot, however, it may be an advantage to steep the seeds before 
using them, and especially so in the case of seeds that are slow to germinate, 
such as celery and parsnips and carrots. To steep these seeds for a few 
days until germination has started and then dry them just enough to make 
thejn pass readily through the seed drill, will hasten their coming up, so 
that weeding will he less difficult in case the land is foul; but such seed 
should not he sown upon foul land if it can be avoided. Care is required in 
steeping seed that fermentation does not occur, which will frequently kill the 
seed. It may he arrested by turning off the water and spreading out the 
seed thinly upon a piece of sheeting and partially drying it. To steep seeds 
in chemical solutions with the belief that this will answer in place of fertiliz¬ 
ing the land, I believe, is sheer humbug and imposition upon common sense. 
The only chemical stuffs that have proved useful, so far as I know, are the 
blue vitriol to destroy germs of smut, strychnine to destroy crows and black¬ 
birds and a smearing of tar on corn seed for protection from these birds. 

Raising Roots.— The average farmer is now devoting all his energies to 
the production of the greatest possible number of bushels of grain. Concen¬ 
tration of effort is generally commendable, but when applied to one particu¬ 
lar branch of agriculture to the exclusion of others just as important, or to 
the detriment of the whole enterprise, it is not commendable. In other 
words, it is very bad management, and the evil effects of such a course will, 
sooner or later, become manifest in the exhausted condition of the soil, where 
this system of indiscriminate grain raising has been pursued. 

The true policy of farming is to produce good crops and feed them out, so 
far as practicable, upon the farm. The larger the stock carried on the farm 
the greater will be the amount of fertilizing material produced. 

In this case, good management would consist in growing those crops from 
which we could realize the greatest return per acre, thereby enabling us to 
carry more stock upon a given area. 

Considered in this way, the root crop is an important factor in stock 
raising, as it yields largely to the acre, and is a most nutritious and whole¬ 
some diet, when stock is deprived of other green food during the feeding 
months. Aside from their nutritious qualities, roots possess a mechanical 
value of no less importance, as they materially aid in the assimilation of dry 
food, which too often forms the exclusive diet of stall-fed stock. 

Of all roots, carrots are the most nutritious, and when the soil is deep, 
rich, and mellow, they will yield enormously, sometimes as high as ten or 
twelve tons to the acre. They keep well and can be fed all the year round 
if properly cared for. They are not so easily harvested as the beet and man¬ 
gold, as the roots penetrate deeply into the soil, necessitating the use of the 
spade or plow when harvesting. Trobably, for this reason, they are not so 
extensively raised as they should be. 

The mangold seems to be the favorite at present, as, perhaps, all things 
considered, it should be. Under the most favorable circumstances it will 
yield even heavier than the carrot, and it also keeps well for spring feeding, 
ltutabagas and turnips come last in the order when considered as to their 
respective values. The greatest argument in their favor is, that they can be 
raised with the least labor and can be raised as a second crop, sown late in 
the season. This is particularly the case with the turnip, which may be 
sown as late as August 1st. 



FIELD CROPS. 


55 


To raise roots profitably, we must, of course, do away as far as possible, 
with all hand labor. The garden or field should be long and narrow, with 
the drills running lengthwise, so that horse-power may be used to advan¬ 
tage when cultivating them. For sowing, the garden seeder, run by hand, 
is the best implement. When rightly managed this work need not interfere 
with other farm work. Many farmers have an idea that such crops must be 
in the ground the very first of the season, before the other field crops are 
sown; but such is not the case. Those calculated for feeding out to stock 
should not bo started out before the first of June. By leaving them until 
thi3 time, the seeds will germinate more surely and rapidly, and the weeds 
will not have three or four weeks the start of the plants, as is the case when 
sown early in the spring. 

Let us have acres of roots this year instead of rods. I am confident that 
the farmer who sows and properly cares for an acre of roots this year, will 
want two acres or more next year. 

Storing Roots. —A writer in the Nebraska Farmer says: “ We always 
find turnips put in the cellar become pithy and worthless. My method is to 
obviate this, and I do it in this way: When I pull my turnips I cut off the 
top way down into the turnip, cut deep enough to cut all the eye out; then 
cut the root off smooth and nice, and you have them in a condition to place 
in a cool part of the cellar, or to bury out in open ground, and you need 
have no fear of pithy turnips. Beets should be buried out of doors, with 
manure over the dirt, so the ground will not freeze. In this way you can 
get at them any time in the winter. A part of the parsnip crop should be in 
the fall; they may be put in the cellar; no matter if they do wilt, they are so 
much the sweeter.” 

Cutting Clover Hay, —Clover hay is greatly improved by curing in the 
cock. The method is as follows: The clover cut in the forenoon is left to 
wilt in the swath until evening. Before the dew begins to fall it is raked 
into winrows, and is thus left until noon the next day. Then it is spread, 
and is exposed for an hour or two to the sun. It is then raked and heaped 
into cocks, about four feet wide and five feet high, and then left until the 
whole crop is ready to carry off the field, or at least twenty-four hours. In 
the cock it ferments, heats and sweats, but takes no .injury, because the 
heated vapor passes off freely, as may be noticed by walking in the field at 
night. During this curing process, some of the woody fiber is changed to 
starch and sugar, and the quality cf the hay thereby improved. Before the 
hay is hauled the cocks are thrown over, and the insides are aired for a 
short time, to evaporate any moisture. It is then drawn to the barn, and al¬ 
though it may heat again, it will suffer no injury. Generally it will not heat 
after the first fermentation, and will go into the barn green, sweet and with¬ 
out any loss of leaf by over-drying. Sometimes immature buds have bloomed 
in the mow when the clover has been thus cured, and the hay has preserved 
even the color of the fresh blossoms. 

Making Hay—A Rood Suggestion. —Farmers who have cut grass for 
hay should let it alone during the continuance of wet weather. There is no 
greater mistake than to break the swath, as grass never takes less harm and 
throws off more wet than just as it is left by the scythe or machine. Every 
blade of grass is provided by nature with a waterproof mantle in the shape 
of an impenetrable glassy covering of silica. This envelope is perfectly able 
to keep out the rain; but tedding and turning breaks it and opens joints into 


56 


THE FA It M. 


which the wet enters. It is then that the mischief begins, the external wet 
mingling with the internal sap and causing fermentation. How long grass 
will resist the bad effects of rain we hardly venture to state, but we are con¬ 
fident that a week or ten days’ bad weather will be best met by the passive 
system here indicated. 

To Baiiisli Crows From a Field. —Machinery of various kinds, such 
as wind-mills in miniature, horse rattles, etc., to be putin motion by the wind, 
are often employed to frighten crows; but with all these they soon become 
familiar, when they cease to be any use at all. The most effectual method 
of banishing them from a field, as far as experience goes, is to combine with 
one or the other of the scare-crows in vogue the frequent use of the musket* 
Nothing strikes such terror into these sagacious animals as the sight of a 
fowling-piece and the explosion of gunpowder, which they have known so 
often to be fatal to their race. Such is their dread of a fowling-piece that if 
one is placed on a dyke or other eminence, it will for a long time prevent 
them from alighting on the adjacent grounds. Many persons now, however, 
believe that crows, like most other birds, do more by destroying insects and 
worms, etc., than harm by eating grain. 

Aliout Tobacco Growing— The ground for tobacco should be plowed 
in the fall or early in spring, six to eight inches deep, and just before plant¬ 
ing plow it again, this time more shallow. Pulverize and level the surface 
soil, then mark out in checks or drills. If White Burley tobacco is to be 
grown make the rows three and a half feet one way by twenty inches the 
other. Always procure well matured, pure seed, and be sure that it is true 
to name. Some kinds are better adapted to certain soils than are others, and 
you may labor under a disadvantage if seeds are not true to name. When 
the plants appear above the ground, after being transplanted, begin using 
the hoe and continue until they are too large to work in. 

Seed Corn. —Iu an address on the subject of corn, Professor Beal re¬ 
marked that the top-most ear was the best for seed; of two fields, one 
planted with seed taken at random and the other selected in the field, the 
latter yielded as much again as the former. Manure and cultivation may be 
thrown away on poor seed. The best time to cultivate corn is before plant¬ 
ing. A shallow cultivation was recommended. Twenty-three ears of corn 
can be produced from one kernel: by proper cultivation and the use of the 
best seed as high as twenty-five ears. Smut is a great damage to corn, and 
smutty corn is very injurious to cattle. 

Weeds —There is no surer or better way to perpetuate weeds, than to 
pull or mow them and cart to the barn yard or pig pen. The seeds will 
ripen perfectly, and when carted out to the field again with the manure, 
they will find plant food just where they would put it were they, instead of 
us, lords over creation. If one finds a weed that he is choice of, with its 
thousands of seeds just ripening, and fears that pulling and leaving it on the 
ground will cause the seeds to rot from dampness, it is well to deposit such 
weed on a rock or fence, where it will dry, and the seeds ripen in safety. 

Improving Pasture Lands. —A few years since, says a writer, I had 
an old pasture that had almost run out, covered with weeds and patched 
with moss. I mixed a few barrels of salt and wood ashes, and applied about 
two barrels of the mixture per acre, covering about half of the lot. The 
result surprised me. Before fall the moss had nearly all disappeared, and 


FIELD CD OPS. 


57 

the weeds were rapidly following suit, while the grass came in thick, assum¬ 
ing a dark-green color, and made fine pasturage. The balance of the lot re¬ 
mained unproductive as before, but the following year it was salted with like 
results. 

Blue Gran and Timothy. —A writer on blue grass says: “Prepare 
the ground late the previous autumn, so that it may have a mellow, fresh 
surface in the spring, and very early sow timothy, clover, and blue grass at 
the same time. About two crops of clover and timothy are obtained before 
the blue grass gets full possession. After that it chokes them out. The 
land is not pastured in less than two years from sowing.” 

Combining Different Varieties of Potatoes. —It is said that the 
qualities of two different varieties of potatoes may be combined in one new 
variety in the following manner: Cut an eye, with some of the flesh, from 
one kind and insert it in a corresponding cut in another with which you 
desire to mix. When the sprout starts it will feed for a time upon the 
potato and partake of its qualities. 

Killing Canada Thist les —The best way is to let them grow until they 
blossom, then cut them off near the top of the ground: the stalk will then be 
hollow; the water will get in the hollow and rot them, so they will never 
sprout again. If they are cut oft' with a hoe or plow, the ground will close 
over them, and there will come two sprouts for one. 

Bate Weeds—In the old wheat fields, where the weeds have started up, 
turn in the sheep. They are not dainty in the choice of food, and weeds that 
are pushed forward by the late rains might as well be converted into mutton 
an to remain and make the field foul. 


X 


FERTILIZERS. 


A Few Words About Lime.—Professor Puryear, who is recognized as 
a skillful chemist, gives in a recent paper the following succinct suggestions 
on the uses and misuses of lime: 

What are the uses of lime in agriculture ? 

1. Lime is always- one of the nine substances found in the ash of plants. 
The grasses and forest trees particularly take it up from the soil in great 
abundance. When lime is not present in the soil in sufficient abundance to 
meet this demand, it should be added. 

2. Lime is needed to hasten the decomposition of vegetable matter, and 
so make it available as plant food. If we wrap up a piece of lime in a cloth, 
in a short time the cloth is so decomposed that it will fall into shreds from 
its own weight. Tanners use lime in their vats to rot the hair from the 
hides. Now, lime behaves exactly in this way in the soil. The vegetable 
matter in the soil is useless until it decomposes, and lime hastens the pro¬ 
cess of decomposition. 

3. Lime is frequently necessary to correct acidity in the soil. Soils 
charged with vegetable acids are never productive. On such soils we put 
lime, which, combining with these acids, forms neutral salts of lime. A 
person takes a little lime-water for the same reason when he suffers from 
acidity of the stomach. When lands have been freshly drained, they are 
always acid. The excess of water, with which the land was saturated, had 
excluded the atmosphere, and so had prevented the complete decomposition 
of vegetable matter. This vegetable matter, if the air had not been excluded, 
would have been converted by atmospheric oxygen into carbonic acid, am¬ 
monia, etc., nut, without oxygen, its elements rearrange themselves, and 
form those injurious compounds, ulinic, humic, and geic acids. When the 
soil is drained, the atmosphere strikes through and destroys these acids, 
but not entirely in a single season. The process, of necessity, is slow. The 
soil to the depth of several feet, it may be, is sour, and it will be some time 
before the atmosphere can thoroughly permeate this soil and burn out these 
hurtful acids. Lime, then, comes to help the slow operation of natural 
causes. When it is spread upon the soil, it is carried downward by the 
rains, and combines with and neutralizes speedily and effectually the vege¬ 
table acids. We cannot possibly err, then, when we put lime on freshly- 
drained lands. In such lands there are not only free acids, but a large 
amount of organic matter, which has not been decomposed because of the 
exclusion of atmospheric oxygen. The application of lime to such soils cor¬ 
rects this acidity, and, by decomposing, renders immediately available this 
large amount of vegetable matter. 

The ash of the grasses contains twenty-two per cent, of lime. Hence the 
practice of top-dressing the grasses -with gypsum, which is the sulphate of 
lime. 

Lime may be injuriously applied. If the soil contain but little vegetable 
matter, the application of lime, particularly heavy applications, will cause 



FERTILIZERS. 59 

this vegetable matter to decompose too quickly. When the crop approaches 
maturity it finds that its quantum of vegetable matter has already been 
decomposed and used up. The result will be conspicuously disastrous if 
the soil was not deficient in lime. The lime has supplied no want, but has 
only inflicted an injury, 

1. Lime is known as caustic or quick lime. This is the article as we obtain 
it from the kiln. Heat has expelled carbonic acid from the carbonate of 
lime, and caustic lime is the result. 

2. Hydrated or slaked lime. When we add to lumps of caustic lime 
about twenty-five per cent, of water, the lumps fall down into a perfectly dry 
powder, giving us slaked lime. 

3. Upon exposure to the atmosphere, this slaked lime loses its properties. 
It becomes the carbonate of lime, or mild lime—the very compound chemi¬ 
cally from which the lime was originally obtained. This mild lime, or car¬ 
bonate of lime, has no caustic or disorganizing properties whatsoever. It 
may be asked, then, why we do not use lime in its natural state, namely the 
carbonate of lime, if it gets into that condition when we spread it on the soil ? 
We answer: 

1. Although lime goes back to carbonate of lime, it does not do so all at 
once, and, in the process of returning to that condition, it decomposes 
vegetable matter, and so makes it plant food. 

2. The natural limestone rock—the carbonate—is very hard, and its re¬ 
duction to a powder by mechanical means would be difficult and expensive. 
Now, when lime slakes in the air, it falls down into a dry powder. No 
mechanical reduction, therefore, is necessary. It requires less expenditure 
of force to burn the limestone, and let the lime fall to powder of itself, than 
to reduce the natural rock by mechanical power. 

Trees, like grasses, contain lime largely. The indication is to apply old 
mortar, or lime in any form, to fruit or shade trees, and this should be done 
in the fall. 

Home-Made Fertilizers for tlie “ Common Farmer.” —The follow¬ 
ing is from the Ohio Fanner: Let us look at an average barnyard—one that 
may be met with most anywhere. Here we see a large pile of horse manure 
steaming away as though on fire. Here a pile of cow manure all frozen so it 
cannot rot its own litter before summer. There a pile of dry corn-stalks, as 
they have been thrown out of the feeding-room. In one part of the yard 
stands a straw stack that the cattle run around and pull down, but the scat¬ 
terings are left close around the stack, and are tramped two feet deep, while 
a few feet from the stack the ground may be seen. The corner of the yard 
where the out-door feeding is done is the only portion that is in any order 
for manure. 

Now I will leave it to my readers if I have not described an average barn¬ 
yard. This is where farmers are to blame. It is but little trouble to keep 
our barnyards in proper shape if we only will. Let us ask the proprietor of 
our sample barnyard if he has so much work during winter that he cannot 
attend to his yard. His answer will be: “ No, but I thought the barnyard 
could take care of itself.” With most of farmers there is a great deal of 
spare time during the winter. Their work, aside from stock feeding, is not 
very pushing, and a day’s time now and then would not be missed. Let us 
have that day once in a while to straighten up that yard, and I will see to it 
that you are paid for it next fall. Let us take a fork every few days and go 
around that straw stack, taking the loose straw that is under foot and cover 




60 


T1TE FARM. 

up that bare spot of ground. Throw it wherever the manure is thin, and the 
cattle will tramp it more, making better manure of the straw, while it helps 
the quality of what is already there. Take a horse and sled every week or 
so, and move that pile of horse manure and that pile of corn-stalks. Put 
them around in thin spots in your yard, like you did that straw, and then see 
what a difference it makes in your yard. Above that cow manure pile just 
have a few stock hogs where they can get at it, and I dare say it will be taken 
care of. Two or three hogs are the best aids you can find to assist about the 
yards, but in justice to the hogs I will say that it is not the best thing for 
them. But every farmer has a few stock hogs that he is carrying over 
winter, and I am sure he cannot keep them cheaper than in his barnyard, 
where they get most of their living out of the cattle droppings and what is 
left after feeding. If your cattle are fed on corn in the stable, the hogs will 
thoroughly scatter the manure pile to secure the corn. 

But now let us look a little to the bedding of our cows and horses. You 
read of A.’s or B.’s plan of securing liquid manure by troughs and pits, but 
you say you cannot do that way. I will tell you what you can do. Go to 
that straw stack and take largely of straw to bed your stock with. Don’t be 
afraid of it, but make their bfedding deep, especially behind them, where it 
will catch all the droppings. Then in cleaning your stables don’t sort the 
straw too close, but throw out all that is dirty and fill up again with clean 
straw. The result will be that you are saving nearly all the liquid manure 
as well as brother A. or B. does it, and you have not had any of the trouble 
you were so afraid of. Moreover, your cows have had the benefit of a nice 
bed to sleep on, and they come out of the stable looking clean, instead of 
reminding you of a walking manure pile, as Ave often see cattle that are 
poorly bedded. There are some Avho have not got this extra amount of straw 
to lavish on their stock. To all such I say, go to your nearest saw-mill and 
get sawdust, and use freely for bedding, as this is as nearly as good an 
absorbent as straAV, and makes good bedding. 

Noav, my brother farmers, such of you as will not give heed to the subject 
of foreign fertilizers and articles pertaining thereto, just try my plan for 
your OAvn home-made fertilizers, and see hoAV much you can increase them, 
and just that much will you increase your profits of the farm. Let us keep 
our eyes open through the winter, and at every opportunity turn a hand 
toAvard the barnyard, and manage carefully until we turn our stock out in 
the spring, and then Ave will counsel together again as to Iioav we will handle 
Avhat Ave have already saved, so as to improA'e the quality, and reduce the 
quantity, thus lessening the expense of removing to the field. 

Something in Regard to Fertilizers—Different soils and different 
crops require very much different treatment and different elements of plant 
food. A judicious cultivation of the soil adds to its producing capacity. The 
elements of plant groAvth contained in soils are unlocked and made available 
to some extent by proper Avorking of the soil. It Avas formerly believed that 
it Avas necessary to add all the constituents of plant groAvth to the soil before 
plants could be produced. That if Ave Avished to raise Avheat Ave must add 
the constituents of wheat. If we wished to raise potatoes add the constitu¬ 
ents of potatoes. This is not now considered absolutely necessary. If we 
use a fertilizer rich in nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, with judicious 
rotation of crops, we may not only raise good crops indefinitely, but bring 
the land up to a higher state of productiveness every year. 

On some soils we could safely leave out the potash, enough being yielded 


FEB TILIZEBS. 


61 


annually by decomposing particles of soil—unlocking the sand grains, as it 
were, to get their treasures. On some soils nitrogen perhaps would not be 
called for at first, and on others, rarer still, phosphoric acid might for a 
time be found sufficient in the soil. 

Cereal crops are especially benefited by nitrogen and nitrogenous man¬ 
ures. Usually from forty to eighty pounds per acre are required lor full 
crops or largest crops. Clover is the best medium to use in charging soils 
with nitrogen. It is a nitrogen trap that is easily set and sure to catch. 
Clover may be specially fertilized with plaster. Potash is of little value in 
cereal growing, and phosphoric acid not greatly called for. In connection 
with nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash are both useful in small 
quantities. 

Eor Indian corn phosphoric acid is perhaps the best special fertilizing 
element. Land plaster often does good service. On some soils potash also 
proves valuable. 

Grass requires all the elements of plant food. Well-rotted manure is 
perhaps the best special manure for it. Bone-dust comes next. Either of 
these can be used at seeding, or afterward as top dressing. Clover requires 
nitrogen and phosphoric acid in small quantities. Potash and lime are its 
most valuable manures. Turnips require nitrogen and phosphoric acid, the 
latter in soluble form. Superphosphates are specials for the turnip crop. 
Mangels want more nitrogen and less phosphoric acid than turnips. Potatoes 
are similar to turnips in their likes, and on most soils they need a supply of 
potash furnished. There is usually potash enough in our common barnyard 
manure for potatoes. 

One hundred pounds of good bone, thirty-five pounds sulphuric acid, and 
thirteen pounds of water, mixed in a wooden vat or tub, will make one 
hundred and forty-eight pounds superphosphate dry. In mixing, however, 
much more water will be found necessary to possibly properly mix the mass, 
and when properly mixed, if after standing a day or two it is too damp, may 
be dried by adding ground plaster, or other material. The bone-dust should 
be wet with the water first, then the acid added, a little at a time; by so 
doing the vessel in which the mixture is made is less acted upon, and the 
incorporation with and action upon the bone is better. Stir with a wooden 
hoe or mixer. Never attempt to reduce whole bones with the sulphuric 
acid. s 

The advantage of reducing bones or rock phosphate with sulphuric acid 
is to render the solubility in water the greater when applied to the soils. 
Liming soils really adds no plant food to the soil, but has a tendency to 
develop it in the soil by the caustic, dissolving, breaking-down effect that 
the action of the lime lias upon the particles of the soil, unlocking them, 
making them give up their hidden stores of plant food. It not only acts 
upon the mineral constituents in the soil, but upon the vegetable constituent 
parts. 

Variation in Manures. —The subject of manures is of the highest im¬ 
portance in practical farming, for it is the basis of every effort at improve¬ 
ment. It is much better understood than formerly, thanks to the effort of 
agricultural scientists, combined with the experiments of practical workers. 
There are, however, some points which, though fully established, are too 
often overlooked. One of the most important of these is that bulk counts 
for little in fertilization as compared with quality. The introduction of 
jajuano and similar concentrated fertilizers, as superphosphate, nitrates of 


62 


THE FARM. 


potash or soda, has had a wonderfully educating influence in this respect. 
Farmers have marveled to see the large results from application of a few 
hundred pounds per acre of these fertilizers, and in some quarters these re¬ 
sults have led to an undervaluation of the home-made manures. The fact 
that the concentrated fertilizer, being deposited generally with the seed, is 
more immediately available, does not demonstrate its superiority except for 
the single crop to which it is applied. The farmer who owns the land he 
tills, as most American farmers do, is interested not only in immediate pro¬ 
tits, but in maintaining, if not increasing, the fertility of his soil. It behooves 
such a farmer to make himself thoroughly posted as to the comparative 
value of stable and barnyard manures made from different feeds and by dif¬ 
ferent animals. 

There is a much greater variation in the value of stable manure than is 
usually supposed, and this not depending on the amount or quality of the 
litter used as an absorbent, but rather on the excrement itself. A well-fed 
horse standing idle in the stable passes more of the manurial value of what 
he eats in his excreta than the same horse fed on the same material and 
hard at work. The nitrogenous and phospliatic materials that are of great¬ 
est value for all crops are precisely those which are retained in the working 
animal to repair the waste of sinew and bone from labor. There is an equal 
and invariable difference in manure, depending on the kind and value of the 
food used. It does not follow that food of highly fattening qualities will 
make rich manure. Few materials are more fattening than sugar, but as 
sugar is only carbon, though it will lay on fat rapidly, it adds little of value 
to the manure pile. Oil-meal makes a valuable fertilizer, for while the oil 
in the meal is fattening, it is alco rich in phosphates. English farmers have 
grown rich, or, what is the same ihing, made their forms rich, by feeding 
oil-cake to fattening animals. The oil, of little value manurially, went into 
the fat cattle and sheep, while the principal part of the most valuable fertil¬ 
izing material was returned to their forms. We have other feeds costing 
much less than oil-meal, which for the resulting manure are nearly or quite 
as valuable. Among the least understood of these feeds is wheat-bran and 
coarse middlings. These are rich in the phosphates, comparatively poor in 
fattening qualities, but of more value for working animals than is generally 
supposed. It has been found by experiment that a mixture of wheat-bran 
with corn-meal makes a much better feed for work-horses than corn alone. 
It is not only in diluting the corn, which by itself is of too heating a nature, 
that such a seed is valuable, but the bran is absolutely richer in nitrogen 
and greatly richer in phosphates than the com-meal. 

The time will undoubtedly come when progressive formers in the older 
sections of the country will feed for the purpose of making the most valuable 
manures with as much carefulness as they now feed for growth, milk, wool, 
or fat. In large sections of the country most of the profit of feeding must be 
found in the manure pile. As this fact becomes better recognized, the ma¬ 
nurial value of certain feeds and the difference in the resultant manures will 
receive that attention which its importance in the farm economy deserves 

How to Enricli tlie Soil—The Farm and Fireside says: The produc¬ 
tion of paying crops on old, upland clay soils depends largely upon restoring 
to it, in the most economical way, the plant-food most needed by the crop to 
be grown. If corn is to be grown, manures containing a liberal amount of 
phosphoric acid and potash will be required. As these substances are valu¬ 
able, constant cropping with corn will soon greatly diminish the value of the 


FERTILIZERS. 63 

land. If wheat is to be grown care must be taken to supply the necessary 
amount of phosphates. Wheat, oats, barley, and rye each require a large 
per cent, of ammonia, which accounts in part for the excellent results that 
follow the use of ammoniated superphosphates. If a crop of seven hundred 
and fifty pounds of seed cotton is grown upon an acre of land, about six and 
one third pounds of phosphoric acid and seven and a half of potash will be 
taken from the soil. In growing tobacco the soil is quickly exhausted of 
potash; for this reason excellent results follow the planting of this crop on 
newly cleared lands. Manures of all kinds should be carefully saved and 
applied to suit the needs of the crop to be grown. Cabbage grows luxuriantly 
when supplied with green manure. The bean plant, on the contrary, 
requires that which is thoroughly rotted. Nitrogenous manures greatly in¬ 
crease the yield of wheat and other grains, and when used with phosphates 
on soils of average fertility, give a visible increase of root crops also. An¬ 
other important factor in enriching the soil is a judicious rotation of crops, to 
be determined to some extent by the soil, climate, and the leading crops to 
be grown. In the North clover is indispensable, but in the South the corn¬ 
field pea answers an excellent purpose, especially for green manuring. In 
this section, where the soil is clay, and wheat and corn are the leading crops, 
red clover is indispensable. Soil exhaustion may be measurably prevented 
by even the simplest of all rotations, that of wheat, followed by clover, and 
this by corn. Such a rotation may be begun by sowing red clover in March 
upon the fields now seeded with wheat. Sow three pecks of red clover and 
one peck of mammoth clover, and one peck of timothy seed upon each six 
acres. The clover should not be pastured for the first year, except for a 
sufficient time for the hogs to pick up the scattered grain after harvest. 
After the 1st of June of the second year the clover can be pastured, but a 
sufficient quantity of that in which the most timothy grows should be 
reserved to cut for hay. This system provides for the accumulation of 
manure in a level yard with raised sides, so that the liquids will keep the 
entire crop of wheat straw and refuse cornstalks and other matter in a moist 
condition, and the decomposition of these materials is much hastened. After 
the haying and harvesting season is over, twenty-two horse loads of manure 
are applied to the acre on the clover field; that is to be plowed to a depth of 
eight to ten inches very early the following spring, where the corn corp is to 
be planted. Each load is divided into eight piles, placed five and one-half 
yards apart. Before seeding to wheat the corn is cut and shocked, and a 
heavy, sharp-toothed harrow precedes the drill. The high-cut stalks, when 
harrowed down, act as a mulch for the wheat plants during the winter, and 
measurably prevent washing even upon high ridges. A great advantage in 
this method of rotation is that the labor required to bring up the land in 
April is not half as great as in midsummer, and the corn, by being planted 
fully a week earlier than it can be on similar soils where there is no sod, 
yields abundantly and matures early, so that there is no delay in seeding 
with wheat early in the fall. As may be inferred from what has already 
been said, the prime factors for cheaply enriching the soil and increasing its 
fertility annually, are the liberal application of properly-cared-for barnyard 
manure, and a systematic rotation of crops, of which red clover is the basis. 

Composting Manure. —Mixing manure or fertilizers is laborious work, 
and if nothing is gained by it, it is labor lost. But something may be gained 
by it when the condition of the material can be changed for the better, and 
at the same time something may be lost when anything can be changed for 


64 


THE FARM. 


tlie worse. In composting, for instance, such raw substances as swamp 
muck, leaves, tannery wastes, with manure, or in mixing various manures, 
as from the horse stable, cow sheds, pig pens, and poultry house, valuable 
results may be obtained; while in mixing lime or wood ashes with manure, 
and especially in mixing the common fertilizer with poultry manure and 
wood ashes, harm may be done and valuable fertilizing matter may be 
wasted. In the one case the more actively fermenting horse or pig manure 
will serve to decompose more readily the colder cow manure, and to pro¬ 
duce decomposition in the abundant litter or raw matter that may have been 
used. Besides, when the whole manure heap has been reduced to an even 
and homogeneous condition and quality, it is made more valuable for use in 
the field, and neither unduly or wastefully enriches one portion of it while 
inadequately fertilizing another portion. It is, therefore, a judicious and 
useful practice to mix these manures or these substances in the heap, either 
in the yard or the field, and so add considerably to the value of a part with¬ 
out detracting from the value other portions. But in the other case much 
harm may be done by mixing any substances in the heap which may exert 
an injurious action upon the others. This may happen when lime or wood 
ashes are mixed with the manure or with the poultry manure; and the more 
harm is done, the richer in ammonia the manure may be. Lime and potash 
are alkalies, and when fresh are in a caustic condition. That is, they ai’e 
free from carbonic acid, which, when combined with an alkali, renders it 
neutral, or mild and inert. When fresh lime or wood ashes are mixed with 
manure they at once seek to combine with carbonic acid, from whatever 
source they can procure it. Ammonia is an alkali, and in manure is gener¬ 
ally in combination with carbonic acid as carbonate of ammonia. The lime 
or wood ashes take the carbonic acid from the carbonate of ammonia, and 
the ammonia escapes as gas into the air, and so far as the owner of the ma¬ 
nure is concerned this ammonia is lost, and as ammonia is the most valuable 
and costly fertilizing element in existence, the loss is very serious. It is 
easy, however, to avoid this loss by using the lime or the ashes by them¬ 
selves on the soil, and not with the manure directly, in which way they will 
do as much good. 

But sometimes it is advisable to mix lime or wood ashes in a compost 
heap, and this may be done safely when the special behavior of these three 
indispensable substances are understood. If the manure is quite fresh 
there is very little ammonia in it, and if there is more, a large proportion of 
absorbent matter, as swamp muck in the heap will absorb and hold it, and 
carbonic acid will be produced by its decomposition in sufficient quantity to 
saturate the alkali of the lime or ashes or to take up the ammonia as fast as 
it is formed or set free. In fact, a farmer who understands the chemical de¬ 
compositions and combinations which go on in a heap of decaying manure or 
compost may use lime and wood ashes with safety and with advantage. 
With regard to the common mixture of ashes, hen manure, and plaster, too, 
this may be safely and beneficially made at the time it is to be used, but not 
if it is to remain mixed for any considerable time previously. 

Suit as a Manure. —Since soda, if essential in plant growth, is only re¬ 
quired in small amounts, and chlorine, though essential for most plants, is 
still required in only small amounts, and common salt is found in minute 
quantity in most soda, chemists have asked why salt should be of any benefit 
as a manure, and from theoretical grounds have been disposed to deny that 
salt has any value as a manure. Yet practical farmers, not having the fear 


FERTILIZERS. 65 

of science before their eyes, have pointed to the increased crops, and asked, 

“ How is that ? ” 

There can be no conflict between practice and science, because science is 
the classified explanation of practice. I have said enough to show that it is 
not enough to cause the rejection of a substance as manure to say that it is 
not “ essential ” to plant growth. 

Let us see what explanation can be made of the use of salt in agriculture 
beyond the small amount required for the ash element. 

Professor May showed that solution of salt would render soluble the am¬ 
monia which had entered into insoluble condition in the soil. 

Professor Atwater, in a recent report says: “ Something has been said 
about the use of ordinary salt as a fertilizer. One important office of the salt 
is to make soluble, and consequently useful in the plant, the materials al¬ 
ready locked up, as it were, in the soil. Supposing you have been putting on 
barnyard manure and other fertilizers. Some of the nutritive materials, as, 
for instance, potash and phosphoric acid, may perhaps have been taken up 
by the soil, and remain there in a difficult soluble condition. Furthermore, 
there are in the soil some of these ingredients that were in the original rock 
of which the soil is made up, and are still, so to say, locked up, or, in other 
words, still remain in an insoluble form therein. One effect of salt, as is the 
case oftentimes with gypsum and lime, is to set loose that potash as phos¬ 
phoric acid. You must expect, therefore, in putting on salt, that its chief 
use will be, not as a direct nutriment to the plant, but rather as a means of 
setting other materials loose; and salt is very useful on this account, because 
it is not readily observed in the upper layers of the soil, but often leaches 
through into the layers; and it will have the effect of setting these materials 
free all the way down. 

“ The German farmers say, however, that you must be careful in the use 
of salt. If you put on too much it injures the vegetation. Further, it will 
not do to put on loose soil. A veiy loose, sandy soil is not ordinarily bene¬ 
fited by the application of salt. Again, it is best applied to soils which con¬ 
tain considerable humus. And, finally, it should be used on soils which are 
in pretty fair condition as regards the contest of fertilizing elements. On 
soils which are not too loose, which have a good amount of humus, and 
which are in pretty fair condition as regards the amount of fertilizing ma¬ 
terial, organic and inorganic, contained in them, it is oftentimes a good thing 
to apply salt.” 

Refuse Sait as a Fertilizer. —A Wisconsin farmer writes: I have used 
salt as a fertilizer for the last three years with good success, and I also find 
that where I have sown 200 pounds per acre the previous year my crops are 
much better than where I sowed salt in the spring of the same year. We 
have better crops in this county than in any other county in the State of Wis¬ 
consin, and produced by the use of salt. Farmers who at first could not be¬ 
lieve that salt is good for anything are the most firm believers in it to-day. 
Those who sowed salt last year will sow double, and those who did not sow 
are going to sow next spring. 

I sow the refuse salt from the packing houses. I have just finished 
drawing 22,000 pounds home to sow on my own farm. I shall try it on my 
winter wheat this week at the rate of 300 pounds to the acre. I have spread 
2 1-2 tons on an acre, but plowed and worked it up with the soil for a turnip 
crop or for barley. It cost only 50 cents per ton, which made it a cheap fer¬ 
tilizer. It is used very liberally in England, where I came from. Many 


66 


THE FARM. 


people have a wrong impression about salt. They think when they salt 
cattle and sheep that salt kills the grass, but this is not so. The stock kills 
it by eating the ground where the salt was put down. I will admit that salt 
will kill most plants, and would like to find some one who Avould pay for 
enough for me to try the experiment. 

I hold that in the West land needs salt as much as cattle do. The first 
time I tided it was on a twenty-acre lot sowed with spring wheat. In two 
weeks I could see the difference between what I sowed with salt and that 
which had received no salt, and I could also see the difference when 
harvested. The part sowed with salt had no chinch bugs, while on the 
other, which had no salt, I could gather up a quart to every sheaf the reaper 
threw off. I have never seen any damage done by chinch bugs where there 
had been two hundred pounds of salt sowed broadcast on the crop. The 
time for sowing is when the grain is about four inches high. I have sowed 
salt when the grain was coming out in head, and with good results, but 
would prefer to sow it earlier. 

I prefer packing salt because it contains more or less grease and fat, be¬ 
sides blood from the meat, which is the essence of manure. Let farmers try 
the experiment, if only on a small piece, and not wait for some one else. 
Wheat yielded from twenty to thirty-five bushels per acre where salt was 
sowed, and where it was not sowed the wheat was not worth the cutting. 
Most of those who did cut it got nothing but No. 4 wheat, weighing fifty-one 
and fifty-two pounds to the bushel. 

Formulas for Commercial Fertilizers. —A writer in the Fruit 
Recorder says: To produce a crop of wheat over what the natural yield 
would be without manure, I use about two hundred pounds sulphate of 
ammonia, one hundred pounds ground bones, forty pounds oil of vitriol, 
fifty pounds of muriate of potash, forty pounds sulphate of soda, one hundred 
and seventy pounds land plaster. 

For Indian corn, to produce about thirty bushels shelled per acre, over 
natural yield: one hundred pounds of ground bones, forty pounds oil of 
vitriol, one hundred and fifty pounds sulphate of ammonia, one hundred and 
twenty-five pounds muriate of potash, high grade or eighty per cent.,-thirty- 
five pounds sulphate of soda, one .hundred and twenty pounds land plaster. 

For oats, to produce about thirty bushels over natural yield; One hun¬ 
dred and fifty pounds sulphate of ammonia, fifty pounds ground bones, 
twenty pounds oil of vitriol, fifty pounds muriate of potash (high grade), 
thirty pounds sulphate of soda, one hundred pounds land plaster. 

For cabbage, to produce fourteen or fifteen tons over natural yield: 
Three hundred and fifty pounds muriate of potash (high grade), four hun¬ 
dred pounds sulphate of ammonia, two hundred and fifty pounds ground 
bones, ono hundred pounds oil of vitriol, fifty pounds sulphate of soda, two 
hundred pounds of land plaster. 

For potatoes, to produce over two hundred bushels over natural yield: 
Five hundred and fifty pounds sulphate of potash, two hundred pounds 
sulphate of ammonia, one hundred pounds ground bones, forty pounds oil 
of vitriol, one hundred and twenty pounds land plaster, forty pounds sul¬ 
phate of soda. 

For onions, to produce about four hundred bushels over natural yield: 
Two hundred and twenty pounds sulphate of ammonia, one hundred and 
fifty pounds ground bones, sixty pounds oil of vitriol, two hundred and fifty 
pounds sulphate of potash, one hundred and twenty pounds land plaster. 


FER TILIZERS. 


67 


For rutabagas, to produce ten to eleven tons over the natural yield: One 
hundred pounds ground bones, forty pounds oil of vitriol, two hundred and 
seventy-five pounds sulphate of ammonia, six hundred pounds sulphate of 
potash, one hundred and fifty pounds land plaster, thirty-five pounds sul¬ 
phate of soda. 

The above formulas are given in quantities for one acre of each kind of 
crops. 

It requires one hundred pounds oil of vitriol to dissolve forty pounds 
ground bones. Put the ground bones into a water-tight plank box and soak 
the bone with w r ater for two or three days, turning on about twenty-five 
pounds of water to each one hundred pounds of bone; then turn on your oil 
of vitriol and stir it thoroughly with a wooden stick, two or three times a day 
for five or six days, then mix in the sulphate of ammonia, next the muriate 
of potash and sulphate of soda, and lastly the land plaster; thoroughly mix 
the whole mass together. To dry it off and make it fit to handle, incor¬ 
porate dry muck, fine charcoal or sawdust, but do not use lime or wood 
ashes as a dryer. Sometimes farmers can collect bones on their own or 
neighboring farms, or get them very cheap from a butcher, in this case they 
want to mash them up fine with a sledge, and about sixty pounds oil of 
vitriol used to one hundred pounds of coarse bones. 

Fertilizers vs. Plant Food. —The Farmer's Magazine and Patron's 
Guide says: Experiments are becoming continually reported by farmers 
that are misunderstood, and lead to conclusions, on the part of the experi¬ 
menters at least, that are detrimental to agricultural progress. Take an 
example now before us, that of a farmer who used lime, superphosphate, 
guano, salt, a chemical fertilizer, and no manure, on as many plots of wheat. 
The yield in each case was good, varying from twelve bushels on the unma¬ 
nured to tw T enty-six to thirty-five bushels for the manured plots. The lime 
gave the greatest apparent profit per acre, though the yield was not so large 
as where guano, chemical and superphosphates w r ere used. Reasoning from 
the figures alone, this experimenter thinks he has a guide for future prac¬ 
tice in wheat farming, and accordingly has now put seventy acres in winter 
wheat manured only with lime. 

We shall be interested to learn the result of several years of this practice, 
but predict that it will prove an unprofitable venture. The soil on which 
this experiment was tried is naturally fertile clay wheat soil. Lime on such 
land always has a good effect for one or two applications—not as plant food, 
however, but in acting upon the soil chemically to make available that 
fertility which is contained in the soil, but in an unavailable condition. Lime 
adds no element to the soil, but forces it to yield up its stores of fertility. It 
should not be understood from this that lime is not plant food, for it is; but 
the great majority of soils, if not all, contain so much of it already that there 
is no necessity for supplying more. This lime, however, is in such a form 
that it does not have the effect upon the soil of newly applied freshly slaked 
lime. 

It is a wise economy to utilize whatever of fertility the soil contains, but 
it must be done judiciously and not wastefully. So soon as it is found that 
the application of lime no longer produces adequate crops, the true reason 
should be assigned to the result, and that reason is that the supply of plant 
food is being exhausted, and outside sources must be called upon to make 
up the deficiency. 

It is legitimate and proper to draw r upon our bank account, but 


G8 


THE FARM. 


we must also deposit, or there will soou be nothing in the bank to draw 
from. 

Malting Our Own Fertilizers. —A Virginia farmer writes: Having 
studied the subject of fertilizing our lands when it is impossible to manure 
with stable manure, and w r atched the effects on different kinds of land, I 
have come to the conclusion that when commercial fertilizers are honestly 
made it pays, even at the low price of grain, to buy and use them on grain 
lands, especially when being seeded down to grass, and when the land is 
too thin to make a set of grass a certainty. My experience has been that the 
money will be returned out of the gain. The set of grass will be always im¬ 
proved; the benefit will be felt while the land is in grass, and there will bo 
a much heavier sod to turn under Avhen the land is broken up. Now if it 
pays to purchase these fertilizers at from $25 to $90 per ton, besides paying 
freight on them and hauling them from the depot, how much better it would 
be for us if we could manufacture our fertilizers at home at one-fourth the 
cost! I once heard a gentleman, who had had years of experience in this 
line, say that pure Peruvian guano, even at $90 to $100 per ton, is the cheap¬ 
est of all fertilizers. Now, unless I am mistaken, Peruvian guano is simply 
rotted bird manure, and must have lost some of its strength by being exposed 
to the air and sun. I suppose the birds that made this guano fed on bugs, 
fish, wild seeds, etc. We thus have one ingredient at least equal to the best 
fertilizer known, right on our farms, and one that can be vastly increased 
with very small additional expense. It is certainly of vast importance to the 
farmer to see that the flock of fowls is kept up, and see that not one ounce of 
manure is w r asted. 

Another thing is the hog manure. This is certainly a splendid fertilizer, 
and should be saved with the \itmost care. I have knowm farmers to build 
their hog pens on a hillside leading to a branch to let the hogs get water, 
and thereby lose nearly all their manure. It may not be equal to Peruvian 
guano, but it is certainly half as good. Another valuable fertilizer is u r asted 
on nine-tenths of all the farms in the country. This is the night soil, and 
everything that comes from the house—the liquid manures are as strong as 
the solids. My plan is to save all these things; pulverizing and making 
them into a real genuine fertilizer that can be drilled, handled, or used as 
are commercial fertilizers. Sink in your yard a vat that will hold two hundred 
bushels. (If one is not enough, you can sink another.) It should be well 
made out of two-inch oak planks, and have a lid with a good handle, so the 
wash-woman can lift the lid and pour her soap suds into it as easy as 
pouring it elsewhere, and where the chamber-maid should be required 
always to put into it everything in her line. Now add all the hen manure 
you can get; all the night soil, and a load or two of the best hog manure. 
Then add muck, loam or plaster enough to absorb all gases and stop all 
smell, so as to make it perfectly inoffensive. When the box is nearly 
full, add (if there is not enough already) enough liquid to make the 
mass mix easily, and with a long pole thoroughly mix, and keep 
stirring for several days, so as to reduce all lumps. You can then 
remove all sticks, cobs, etc., that may have found their way into 
it, with a coarse sieve fastened on a long pole. When thoroughly 
mixed and sifted, allow it to dry out, and if not dry enough when 
you w'ant to use, spread it on boards and dry thoroughly. This fer¬ 
tilizer can be made at a small cost per ton, and will be found to do 
good work. 


fertilizers. 


63 

llonle-Made vs. Commercial Manures. —A correspondent of the New 
England Homestead writes: The great body of common farmers will never 
profitably develop their agricultural resources or to any great extent increase 
the fertility of their farms until they keep or fatten more cattle and sheep. 
And the way to keep more stock is, to keep it without more ado -just as our 
wise financier remarked that the way to resume specie payments was to re¬ 
sume. 

Notwithstanding the legislation for the protection of the honest manufac¬ 
turer as well as the purchaser, the common farmer feels that in buying 
many varieties of commercial manures he is not master of the situation. 
This is why I advise farmers to keep stock or make their fertilizers upon 
their own farms as much as possible—to buy animal food rather than plant 
food. For horned cattle as a rule, buy firm cotton-seed meal, corn meal, 
fodder corn or com fodder and swale hay. In purchasing food for other 
kinds of stock, we must be guided by their varied conditions, always feed¬ 
ing such kinds and quantities as will be kindly relished and thoroughly di¬ 
gested. 

For several years I have bought twenty-five cords of stable manure an¬ 
nually. A large proportion comes from Boston and costs me eight dollars 
per cord delivered on my farm. Yet I consider it as cheap as any fertilizer 
in the market. In a cord of good manure free from foreign substances, we 
get the results of about two tons of hay together with the grain fed, less the 
animal waste or growth. If judiciously applied, the ground that receives 
the manure will in a number of years yield its full equivalent w r ith interest. 
If plant food is to be bought, buy first good stable manure, fine ground bone, 
good hard wood ashes, and muriate of potash. When the honest manufac¬ 
turer will sell these elements compounded as cheaply as the farmer can 
purchase and compound them himself, it may do to buy still more largely 
of commercial or chemical fertilizers. And in their application we must no 
longer work blindly. 

Use of Plaster and Ashes. —Henry Ives, one of the best farmers in far- 
famed Western New York, writes thus sensibly to the Tribune: “To use 
plaster on any of our growing crops requires so slight a cast and so often 
proves beneficial, that one can hardly afford to neglect its application, al¬ 
though occasionally no perceptible advantage is derived from it, and, at 
best, we scarcely look for benefit except for the one season and the one crop. 
But in using ashes we are more sure of benefit, and its good effects are so 
lasting that after one liberal application, say of from 50 to 100 bushels per 
acre (though if leached ashes are used one could safely apply three to six 
times this quantity), the effect will show for five, ten, or even fifteen years, 
by increasing fertility. When applying plaster to corn, or plaster and guano, 
phosphate or hen manure, or even with a small quantity of ashes (in all 
cases from 100 to 200 weight to the acre is enough of the plaster), the in¬ 
gredients should be prepared and well mixed on the barn floor, loaded into 
an open wagon, so as to have it along convenient to the work, and almost 
any time in the early growth of the corn apply a small handful to each hill, 
not as some do, by throwing it carelessly in a compact heap near to the hill, 
but as it is thrown sift through the fingers, giving it an even distribution all 
about the hill. But after the corn is a little more advanced I believe it 
would do it more good, and without costing much if any more, to use two or 
three times as much of the fertilizing mixture, sowing it broadcast over the 
field. If, instead, the farmer could apply 60 or 80 bushels of ashes to the 


THK Pa UM. 


% 

acre, it should be done before planting or seeding, so as to be well mixed 
with the soil when preparing it for the seed-bed. This, I believe, is the 
most lasting of any kind of fertilizer, and one of the cheapest, too, when the 
ashes can be obtained without costing more than 25 or 30 cents a bushel. 
After such an application of ashes, or other fertilizer, or manure, it is still 
just as desirable as ever to plaster the corn growing on such fertilized land.” 

Experience with Muck.— A correspondent of the Country Gentleman 
gives his experience with muck as follows: As the attention of farmers is 
drawn to the necessity of enriching their farms, I will give the result of sev¬ 
eral years’ experience with muck. My practice has been as follows: In the 
fall, when the muck beds are dry, I throw out into piles as much as I think 
I need for the coming year. At some convenient time I draw a quantity near 
the house, where I can throw on it the soap suds from washing, night soil, 
scrapings from the hen house, and leached or unleached ashes. I generally 
commence this compost heap in the fall, but if any one would commence in 
the spring he would make a much larger amount. 

In the spring I shovel over the pile once or twice; then it is ready for use. 
This manure I use in the hill for all hoed crops, as phosphate is used. I 
consider it far ahead of barnyard manure in the hill, and equal to phos¬ 
phates, for the nature of manure is to dry up, while the nature of muck is to 
attract moisture. It is about one day’s work for a man to put this into one 
acre of corn or potatoes, putting a good handful in each hill. I have ftmnd 
that this manure contains an alkali, or something, so that birds and crows 
will not pull corn, and wire-worms will not eat the roots of corn. White 
grubs will not gnaw potatoes that are planted in it. It makes a corn crop 
ripen about one week or ten days earlier than without it. I have known 
farmers to pay 50 cents a load for muck to make compost from to be used on 
tobacco, and they thought it paid them well. 

I have noticed that the first crop does not use up all the strength of one 
application. It can be seen in the next crop. It does not hurt seed corn or 
potatoes to be dropped into this compost, they will grow better than in com¬ 
mon earth. This compost heap has some advantages over phosphate. It 
does not cost any money if one has a muck bed, and it will keep insects 
away from the roots of crops. I have drawn and mixed barnyard manure 
and muck in piles during the winter, in the proportion of two of manure to 
one of muck, and I consider it better than raw manure from the yard for any 
crop. 

WHat a Pint of Manure Did. —A Wisconsin farmer sends this experi¬ 
ence to the American Agriculturist: “Last year, in hauling yard manure 
across a field afterwards planted to corn, some of it scattered off in driblets, 
from a handful to a pint or so in a place. When planting the corn, I found 
portions of these droppings, and where noticed, drew them into the hills, 
and with the hoe mixed them a little with the soil as the seed was dropped. 
In three instances, where a large handful or about a pint of the manure was 
thus put in, a stick was driven down to mark ilie hills. When hoeing, we 
noticed that in these hills the corn plants had started off more vigorously, 
were greener, and at the third hoeing they were six to twelve inches higher 
than the other hills adjoining. Our curiosity being awakened, we followed 
up the observations, and when gathering the crop each of the three stalks in 
all the three hills had on it two large plump ears, while the surrounding 
corn did not average one good ear to the stalk. 

“ This set us to thinking and figuring. That bit of manure had given the 


FERTILIZERS. 


71 


young corn roots a vigorous start, just as good feed starts off a young calf, 
or pig, or lamb, and the I'oots penetrated further in every direction and 
gathered more food and moisture. These stalks being better nourished 
from below, ran far away from the poorly fed neighbors. As to the figures, 
the rows were three and one-half feet apart, and the hills three feet distant 
in the rows, say four thousand hills on an acre, and four thousand pints of 
manure is about sixty-two and one-lialf bushels, or two large wagon loads. 
Anybody can reckon the difference between six large, well-filled ears of 
corn on each hill, and less three per hill, and the cost of the manure as com¬ 
pared with the total value of the final crop. The plowing, and the seed, and 
the hoeing, amount to the same in each case. All I have to say is, that 
every com-hill planted on my farm this year will have at least a pint of 
manure in it.” 

How to Double file Usual Ctuantity of Manure on tlxe Farm._ 

Provide a good supply of black swamp mold or loam from the woods, within 
easy reach of your stable, and place a layer of this, one foot thick, under 
each horse, with litter as usual on top of the loam or mold. Remove the 
droppings of the animals every day, but let the loam remain for two weeks, 
then remove it, mixing it with the other manure, and replace with fresh 
mold. By this simple means any farmer can double not only the quantity 
but also the quality of his manure, and never feel himself one penny the 
poorer by the trouble or expense incurred, while the fertilizing value of the 
ingredients absorbed and saved by the loam can scarcely be estimated. 

Josiah Quincy, Jr., has been very successful in keeping cattle in stables 
the year through, and feeding them by means of soiling. The amount of 
manure thus made had enabled him to improve the fertility of a poor farm 
of one hundred acres, so that in twenty years the hay crop had increased 
from twenty to three hundred tons. The cattle are kept in a well-arranged 
stable, and are let out into the yard an hour or two mornings and afternoons, 
but they generally appear glad to return to then’ quarters. By this process, 
one acre enables him to support three or four cows. They are fed on grass, 
green oats, corn fodder, barley, etc., which are sown at intervals through 
the spring and summer months, to be cut as required; but he remarks that 
his most valuable crop is his manure crop. Each cow produces three and a 
half cords of solid, and three cords of liquid manure, or six and a half cords 
in all. Five to eight miles from Boston, such manure is worth from five to 
eight dollars a cord. From this estimate, he has come to the conclusion that 
a cow’s manure may be made as valuable as her milk. 

Advantages of Sheltering Manure. —Many farmers allow the manure 
made by their stock of cattle to be thrown out doors, where it remains 
exposed in heaps or in the yard for several months. The rams fall upon it, 
and streams of black Avater laden Avitli the soluble and valuable elements of 
the manure run away from the manure heap during every heavy min, the 
sun burns it, and the Avinds dry it, the volatile gases escape and are lost. In 
this way a large part of the plant food contained in the manure is lost. That 
a serious loss is thus occasioned has been proved by experiment. A Scotch 
farmer and land-owner showed by experiment that covered manure increased 
the productiveness of his land enough the first year he used it to pay the 
cost of rough sheds put up to protect it. Four acres of good land Avere 
measured ofl'; two of them Avere manured Avith ordinary barnyard manure, 
and the other tAvo Avith an equal quantity of manure from the covered shed. 
The whole Avas planted to potatoes. The tAvo acres manured A\ T ith barnyard 




72 


THE FARM. 


manure, which had been exposed to the weather, yielded five hundred and 
sixty-four bushels of potatoes, while the other two acres manured with 
covered manure, yielded nine hundred and thirteen bushels, or four hun¬ 
dred and fifty-one bushels more than the other. The increased effect of the 
covered manure did not cease with the first year. The next year both plots 
were sown with wheat, and from the two acres dressed with the barnyard 
manure ninety bushels of wheat were harvested, while from the two acres 
dressed with the covered manure, one hundred and eight bushels of wheat 
were obtained. These facts show the importance of protecting the barn 
manure from the weather. 

Tiie Fertility of Soils. —The fertility of a soil depends not alone on its 
composition. A proper mechanical texture is essential. On the texture of 
soils depends not only their suitableness for the growth of different crops, 
but likewise the rapidity of their growth. It is the texture, also, which 
regulates to a just extent the soil’s power of absorbing and retaining heat, 
moisture and manure. 

To be fertile the soil must be firm enough to afford a proper degree of 
support to the growing plants, and yet loose enough to allow the delicate 
fibres of the rootlets to extend themselves in all directions. It must be 
loose enough to allow free access of air and suitable drainage, and at the 
same time close enough to retain sufficient moisture. 

Unless there bo a sufficiently free passage for the rain throughout the 
substance of the soil the plant food will not be properly prepared, nor the 
stationary root3 of plants be fed. 

The fertility of a soil is also dependent on the climate in which it lies. 
Local conditions as to rainfall, temperature, etc., must be considered in 
estimating the value of soils. They may be the same in composition and 
texture and yet differ widely in value. The amount of rain, the season of its 
descent determine largely the value of the soil of localities for agriculture. 

The temperature of the air in any given locality has an important bearing 
upon the productiveness of the soil, whatever may be its composition and 
texture and the amount of rainfall. 

Green Manures.—I have never yet been able to make as much barn¬ 
yard manure as I wanted, writes a Southern farmer, and commercial fer¬ 
tilizers are dangerous things to come in contact ivith a farmer’s pocket, so 
I touch them lightly; then what is the next best resort ? Green manures. 
In the fall of 1882, I determined to try rye as a fall crop, and I sowed a 
twenty-five acre lot in it, and the following May I plowed it under, when 
fully headed, and sowed black peas, one bushel per acre (having used the 
same quantity of rye). We had a nice pea fallow, and plowed them under 
about the first of October, and sowed wheat in the latter part of October, 
1883. Last year we cut the wheat, and though it had the rust very badly, 
we made between twelve and fifteen bushels per acre. The growth of the 
straw was very fine, and I am confident we would have made from twenty 
to thirty bushels per acre but for the rust, on land that would not, before 
these green fallows, have made ten bushels of Avheat. I now believe you 
may grow wheat on the same lands every year by following each crop with a 
pea-fallow, along with ten bushels of lime per acre, applied when the peas are 
fallowed in. We did not apply any lime on our fallow, as the land had 
been limed a few years before with fifty bushels per acre. I verily believe 
the lands can be cropped, as above stated, and constantly improved. We 
should never buy peas to sow but once, and thus save our seed each year, 


FERTILIZERS . 


73 


even if yon have to sow a separate lot for that purpose. I have tried peas 
as a fallow crop for the past three years, and find them the best and cheap¬ 
est substitute for barn-yard manures that the poor land farmer can find. 
They are good to soav on the corn lands, at the last working in June, and 
fallow in when the corn is cut oft' in October; and I have been told, by some 
old farmers, that they will improve the land just as much if left until the 
frost kill them, and then fallow, as when fallowed under green. If all 
farmers would use every means in their power to feed and improve their 
lands, we would soon have a different country from the present. 

Bone Dust. for Top Dressing.— In reply to a correspondent who asks if 
hone dust would not make a good dressing for grass land to he applied in 
the fall, the American Agriculturist says: “ We think it would be better to 
compost the bone dust with yard manure and then apply the compost. If 
six or eight cords of this fine compost were applied to the acre it would only 
furnish a good dressing of itself, which the land would be the better for, 
would act as a sort of mulch or protection for gi’ass roots, and if the soil was 
at all inclined to ‘heave,’ it would he a positive benefit. But our corre¬ 
spondent must remember that the disadvantage of using hone dust or 
ground hone alone, as a fertilizer, is the fact of its slow action. The ni¬ 
trogen and phosphoric acid which the bones contain is very slowly rendered 
available for plants, on account of their insoluble nature; but where the 
bone dust is added to yard or barn manure as a compost, the bones cause 
the mass to ferment somewhat, and the heat engendered liberates the phos¬ 
phoric acid and nitrogen, which is absorbed by the manure and given out 
more quickly to plants when brought in contact with them. Good practice 
and the last scientific authorities have united in recommending this as the 
best treatment for ground bone and the best manner of its application to 
plants. Fifty pounds of ground bone to a cord of manm-e would be suffi¬ 
cient.” 

Liquid Manure for Gardening. —It is well known that the liquid ma¬ 
nure of animals is more valuable than the solids. In all densely populated 
countries all these are carefully saved and carried direct to the fields, or 
stored in tanks for future use. 

In the West, and indeed all over the United States, but little attention is 
paid to the liquid wastes of the stables and yards. This has given rise to 
the saying that “ the leaks in the stable are not in the roof.” The point is, 
that it costs but little more in building a stable to provide drainage through 
which the liquid manure may safely be carried to a tank or a tight-bottomed 
pond in the yard, than it does to leave the whole without drainage, to rot the 
foundations and saturate the soil beneath. Once conveyed to the place of 
deposit, it may be pumped to the manure pile, or carried direct to the 
garden, the meadow, or fields, where it will pay for the labor expended, 
ten-fold. 

For the garden it is especially valuable, for here the chief expense is in 
the cultivation. It costs no more to cultivate an acre of thoroughly enriched 
land than an acre of poor land; in fact, not so much, for on rich soil the 
vegetation will quickly cover the ground, and thus smother the weeds, 
while on poorer soil the weeds continue to grow during the whole summer. 
If no other convenience be at hand, a hogshead may be placed in the wagon, 
having an orifice at the bottom, to which a hose may be attached, and thus 
the land may be watered on either side as the team passes through the cen¬ 
tral drive, which every garden should have for convenience in hauling in 




74 


THE FAUM. 


and hauling out manure, trash and produce. If this be not feasible, on ac¬ 
count of the small size of the garden, a can with a flat spout, or even large 
buckets to which a flat pouring place is added, will he speedy and efficient. 

Gardeners well know the value of manure, and especially of liquid ma¬ 
nure. They spare no pains or piice to get all they can, and often apply from 
20 to 40 loads of compost or decomposed manure per acre, annually. It is 
what makes or mars the profit in gardening. The result of the gardener’s 
experience may he easily learned by any farmer who reads, if indeed, it he 
not so devoted to impractical matter that the proper talent in this direction 
is not retained. It is just this that makes the difference in the value of any 
technical journal. If it spread over too much ground, it is efficient in no¬ 
thing. Just so with the individual. If he engage in three or four separate 
callings, some of them must suffer. The field of agriculture is broad 
enough, and in this field there is none more important than the proper 
saving and application of manure, and especially so in the vegetable gar¬ 
den which no farmer, however few his acres, can afford to be without, es¬ 
pecially if he have due regard for the health of his family. 

Application of Fertilizers. —Recent experiments have demonstrated 
that where the application of superphosphates to the soil has produced no 
effect, the cause was to be attributed to a sufficiency of those salts already 
existing therein. Where 2 cwts. soil contain less than 3 1-2 ounces of phos¬ 
phoric acid, the superphosphate will prove beneficial. When it contains 5 
ounces of phosphoric acid, the addition of the salt will turn out to be useless. 
It follows from this that, contrary to the received opinion, it is not necessary 
to apply nitrates mixed with the phosphates, when the latter are present in 
the soil. M. ragnoul continues his interesting experiments as to the solu¬ 
bility of phosphates by diverse agents. He conclusively proves that stable, 
indeed, Ave may add barn-yard manure, will dissolve natural phosphates in 
the powdered state, and thus economize the expensive superphosphates. 

A Patent Fertilizer Which Anybody May Use. —This im r ention re¬ 
lates to a combination of chemicals to be used in connection with dry peat, 
or muck and unleached ashes, or Avith any refuse matter haA'ing fertilizing 
properties, to form a fertilizing compound; and it consists in combining dis¬ 
solved bone, ground plaster, nitrate of soda, sulphate of soda and sulphate 
of ammonia, in. proportion substantially as follows: 

Dissolved bone, three bushels; ground plaster, three bushels; nitrate of 
soda, forty pounds; sulphate of soda, forty pounds; and sulphate of am¬ 
monia, thirty-three pounds. This mixture is incorporated with, say, twenty 
bushels of dry peat or muck, and three bushels of unleached ashes. 

The manner of preparing a fertilizing compound from the above ingredi¬ 
ents is as follows: The peat or muck and ashes, if such matter be used as 
the base of the mixture, are thoroughly mixed with the dissolved bone, and 
the nitrate of soda, sulphate of soda, and sulphate of ammonia, after being 
dissolved in water, added thereto. The ingredients are next incorporated 
Avitli the ground plaster, after AA'hich the compound is alloAved to stand for, 
say, thirty or forty days, Avhen it becomes ready for use. 

The Work of Potash. —Potash is a fertilizing element AA r liose restora¬ 
tion to the soil is indispensable, as it is carried off by crops in considerable 
proportions. This restitution becomes the more imperative Avhen plants of 
the leguminous family, such as clover, disappear, to be replaced by mass. 
Unwashed Avood ashes, containing six to eight per cent, of potash, and three 


FERTILIZE liS. % 

to four of phosphoric acid, often produce marvelous effects; the mass dis¬ 
appears, and the clover and similar plants take its place. 

M. Rimpeau, at Schlanstedt, Saxony, and Prince William, at Schaum- 
bourg, have been occupied with the influence of potash on the production o i 
sugar in beets. After the bedding was cleaned in the morning, the boards 
were strewn with one cwt. of kainite and one-half cwt. of gypsum, per two 
tons of soiled bedding; the latter, on being removed, was allowed to steep in 
putrid wine, and in time applied at the rate of eleven tons per acre, to a 
marly soil. The manure, enriched with kainite, produced a slight augmen¬ 
tation in yield of roots, over the gypsum combination. The salient fact 
elucidated by Prince William on his estate in Bohemia is, that chloride of 
jxotassium exercises no essential action in humid years, while in dry seasons 
one and a half cwt. per acre secures an increase of three tons of roots per 
acre; that the salt of potash acts less by furnishing that element to vegeta¬ 
tion, than by its absorbing and retaining humidity for the plant. 

Aslies in the Compost. —When ashes are used in combination with 
stable manure, the latter is decomposed too rapidly, but if immediately ap¬ 
plied to the land there is no waste, or if covered with loam, the component 
parts are rendered more soluble and the manure acts with greater rapidity. 
If the liquid excrement from the cows is mixed with the manure, sufficient 
soluble matter is thereby supplied for a first crop, and while the crop is 
growing and maturing, the solid manure has been decomposing and prepar¬ 
ing for another crop; or, it may be said, the liquid manure will give the 
young plant a quick start, while afterwards the solid part will aid in finishing 
the crop. Ashes do not act so quickly on hen manure as on stable manure, 
since the former is much dryer; consequently decomposition does not take 
place immediately. If applied soon after composting, the compound will 
give good results, but if allowed to remain too long after composting, the 
ammonia will be lost to some extent. If the compost be covered with fresh 
loam, there will be no loss, since the loam will absorb the ammonia. 

IIow to Keep and Spread Manures. —It seems to be conclusively 
settled in Europe that by far the best way to keep manure is to let it remain 
under the animals all winter, accumulating to a depth of several feet under 
them, and absorbing all the urine. When thus tramped down firmly it 
never heats, and is fully one-fourth stronger than when piled out doors ex¬ 
posed to the sun and rain, both of which injure it greatly. The animals are 
kept clean by abundant applications of leaves, loose straw, etc., for beds. 

Mr. Gregory, the great Marblehead seedsman, pronounces night soil or 
privy manure to be fully fifty per cent, stronger than that of animals. It is 
too strong to apply separately and requires to be decomposed with stable 
manure to get the best results. In China, Japan and East, all human manure 
is carefully saved. There it is carried about in buckets, and is very highly 
prized as a valuable article. In this country it is recklessly thrown away 
and wasted, being treated as a nuisance. In no possible manner can the fer¬ 
tility of lands be so kept up as by saving all the excrement from men and 
animals, voided after eating their food, and returning it to the soil from 
which it came. 

Value of Home-Made Manure. —Of manures, that of the cow is the 
poorest, that of the horse being double in value, and that of the hog five 
times that of the horse. Hen manure, mixed with two or three times its own 
bulk of muck, or even loam, is as good as most guano kept for sale. Ashesj 




% The FAiiti. 

leached or unleached, are excellent. The contents of the closet may he kept 
inodorous, and in an easily workable condition, by casting plaster on them 
frequently until removed, and then by adding four times as much more of 
muck or loam, you will have a fertilizer equal to poudrette. Bones, old 
boots and shoes, hogs’ bristles, and all old scraps, which would otherwise 
lie about as nuisances and eyesores to all who see them, may be made solu¬ 
ble and fit for fertilizing by burying them in unleached ashes, with an occa¬ 
sional slight watering and stirring of the heap, and addition of ashes, until 
reduced to a proper state for pulverizing. The pig should be supplied -with 
all the weeds you can gather before they seed, and peat, muck, turf, etc., if 
thrown into his yard, he will work over, and pay for his keeping by largely 
increasing the amount of manure. He will work over ten or twelve loads if 
given to him. 

Clover as a Fert ilizer. —A stick of wood burned on the surface mostly 
passes off in gas, leaving only the ashes; but the same stick if burned in a 
coal-pit, excluded from the air, forms a mass of carbon of nearly or quite its 
original size. Now all decay of vegetable matter is a slow combustion, and 
Avhen this is done under the soil, not only the gases retained in the soil, but 
more carbon is formed, and this carbon has the power to appropriate the 
valuable gases always present in the atmosphere. The great value of clover 
as a fertilizer is due, first to the carbon fui’nished by the decay of the plant, 
and second to the fine mechanical effect on the soil, Avhich renders it porous, 
so that the atmosphere penetrates it and deposits plant food. It is clear that 
better fertilizing effects will result from the plowing down of the crop to 
decay in the soil. Ordinarily more can be made out of the tops than they are 
worth for manure, and if rightly managed, the roots will supply the needed 
fertility. 

Home-made Superphosphate. —A Western journal remarks that 
almost every farmer has upon his own premises one of the best superphos¬ 
phate manures known. The elements are found in the old bones, scattered 
carelessly over yard, garden and farm, and common wood ashes, generally 
allowed to go to waste. If the bones are gathered, placed under shelter, 
thoroughly mixed with three or four times their bulk of ashes, kept moist 
with water enough to make a good lye and occasionally stirred and mixed, 
they will, in a few months, become so tender and friable that they may be 
pounded into powder, and in this state they form a valuable manure, better 
than the average of the commercial fertilizers that seem so expensive. The 
ashes, of course, should be mixed with the bones. The fertilizer thus made 
should be applied by tliejiandful in the hill of corn, and its effects may be 
early seen in the deep, rich green of the growing plant. This may seem "like 
small business to a farmer who has but little spare time, but it is by just such 
economy that our best farms become so profitable, and it is by l^ck of such 
economy that so many farms fail to yield even a comfortable living. 

Soap Suds. —The value of this article as a stimulant of vegetable life can¬ 
not be too highly appreciated. It contains the aliment of plants in a state of 
ready solution, and when applied, acts not only with immediate and obvious 
effect, but with a sustained energy which pertains to few even of the most 
concentrated mamires. When it is not convenient—the most economical 
method, perhaps, of using it—it should be absorbed by materials which may 
be used as an ingredient in the compost heap. Suds, muck, and other 
similar articles, should be deposited where the suds from the sink and 


FUR TILIZERS. 


77 


laundry can find its way to them and be absorbed for the benefit of the crops. 
In this way several loads of manure, suitable for the support and suste¬ 
nance of any crop, may be made at comparatively small expense. The 
highly putrescent character of this fermentable liquid qualifies it admirably 
for the irrigation of compost heaps of whatever material composed. Being a 
potent fertilizer, it must of course impart additional richness to almost any 
material to which it may be added. Try it, and mark the result. 

Manure for Almost Nothing —If you have any dead animal—say, for 
instance, the body of a dead horse—do not suffer it to pollute the atmos¬ 
phere by drawing it away to the woods or any other out-of-the-way place, 
but remove it a short distance only from your premises, and put down four 
or five loads of muck or sods, place the carcass thereon, and sprinkle it over 
with quicklime, and cover over immediately with sods or mold sufficient to 
make, with what had been previously added, twenty good wagonloads, and 
you will have within twelve months a pile of manure worth twenty dollars for 
any crop you choose to put it upon. Use a proportionate quantity of mold 
for smaller animals, but never less than twenty good wagon-loads for a 
horse; and if any dogs manifest too great a regard for the enclosed carcass, 
shoot them on the spot. 

Poultry Manure. —Fifty fowls will make, in their roosting house alone, 
ten cwt. per annum of the best manure in the world. Hence fifty fowls will 
make more than enough manure for an acre of land, seven cwt. of guano be¬ 
ing the usual quantity applied per acre, and poultry manure being even 
richer than guano in ammonia and fertilizing salts. No other stock will 
give an equal return in this way; and these figures demand careful atten- 
tention from the large farmer. The manure, before using, should be mixed 
with twice its bulk of earth, and then allowed to stand in a heap, covered 
•with a few inches of earth, till decomposed throughout, when it makes the 
very best manure which can be had. 

An Experiment witli Ashes*—An experiment made with five wagon 
loads of coal ashes on twenty square rods of ground may be cited as an in¬ 
stance of beneficial mechanical effects. The amount of ashes was about two 
hundred bushels, that is to say, ten bushels to the rod. They were drawn 
on late in the fall, the ground having been recently plowed. In the spring, 
the ground was plowed again, thus mixing the ashes with the soil. It was 
then planted with garden stuffs. All the plants made more growth than in 
the previous year, when the ground, after being liberally manured, was 
planted to the same crops. But the favorable change was not attributable 
to manurial properties in the coal ashes. Before the application the soil 
Avas compact and heavy, a fault that the ashes corrected, and Avithout doubt 
this Avas practically the sole effect. 

Peter Henderson on Fertilizers. —Peter Henderson says that the best 
knoAvn fertilizers of commerce are Peruvian guano and bone dust. What¬ 
ever kind of concentrated fertilizer is used, he finds it Avell repays the labor 
to prepare it as follows before it is applied to the land: To every bushel of 
guano or bone dust add three bushels of leaf mold, well pulverized dry 
muck, yard scrapings, Avell decomposed stable matter, or, if neither of these 
can be obtained, any loamy soil, but in every case the material mixed with 
the fertilizer must be fairly dry, as it is used as a temporary absorbent for 
the fertilizer. 


78 


THE FARM. 


Top-Dressing. —Some farmers think that top-clressing with manure is 
best done during the winter. In the fall the manure, unless very fine and 
evenly spread, will cover up injuriously much of the plant. When spread 
in winter, on the contrary, it acts as a mulch and a protection while tliG 
plant is dormant, neutralizing the effects of freezing and thawing. An au¬ 
thority on the subject advises that artificial fertilizers be spread on grain 
lands in the fall, and barnyard manure after the snow comes. 

Improving Light Soil. —The best way to improve a light sandy soil is 
to put on all the vegetable matter you can, either in the form of muck from 
swamps, or by turning under peas, buckwheat, clover, or some similar crop. 
If the land is very porous, more or less of the fertilizing materials applied 
will sink out of the reach of ordinary crops. Your main point is to get the 
land full of vegetable matter, not only to increase its fertility, but to make it 
hold moisture in summer. 

Liquid Manure. —The liquid voidings of animals are worth more (good 
authorities say one-sixth more), pound for pound, than the solid excrements, 
and are saved with greater care by the best European farmers and gar¬ 
deners. All the leaks in the stable are not in the roof; those often in the 
floor are quite as objectionable, and are the cause of a great deal of wastage. 
Make the stable floor tight, with a gutter at the heels of the stock to carry it 
off to an adjacent tank, or into a heap of muck or other absorbent. 

Saving Fertilizers. —One of the most prevalent errors among average 
farmers is the neglect of making and preserving manure, and also its im¬ 
proper application to the ground. Collect all the refuse material you can, 
use your chip dirt from the wood pile in absorbing liquids. Apply it to the 
flat lands at any time during winter. It can then be thrown on broadcast 
and plowed in as soon as the ground opens. The necessity of returning as 
much vegetable nutriment to the ground as has been taken off by the crop 
cannot be too strongly impressed upon the attention of our farmers. 

How to Apply Manure. —The old plan of plowing under manure has 
pretty much been abandoned by many farmers as wasteful. Advanced 
farming believes and teaches that the intimate and thorough incorporation 
of the fertilizing principle, into that portion of the soil which is to be occu¬ 
pied immediately by roots of the growing crop, is a truth taught by experi¬ 
ence on all soils, and in all climates, and the more evenly and thoroughly 
this is done the more surely will the crop be satisfactory. 

Spreading Manure. —An English writer says: “ The wasteful practice 
of spreading manure on surface of the soil, and allowing it to lie bleaching 
for weeks, and even months before being plowed in, is still carried on in 
some counties in England, and stoutly defended by hosts of clay land 
farmers,” and he expresses the opinion that “ if the perpetrators of such 
an enormity be right, science is at fault, analysis is an illusion, and am¬ 
monia and all its kindred a family of impostors.” 

Mixing Manure in Winter. —When teams are not otherwise employed 
in the winter it is a good plan to draw the pile of horse manure around 
horse stables and spread it over the heaps of cattle and sheep excrement. 
The manure of the horse and the cow especially are admirable supplements 
each to the other, that from the horse being naturally too active and that 
from the cow too slow. Enough bedding should be placed under horses to 
absorb all their liquid excrement, so that none be wasted. 


FEB TILIZERS. 


79 

Home-Made Guano— Save all your fowl manure from sun and rain. 
To prepare it for use, spread a layer of dry swamp muck (the blacker it is 
the better) on your barn floor, and dump on it the whole of your fowl ma¬ 
nure; beat it into a fine powder with the back of your spade; this done, add 
hard wood ashes and plaster of Paris, so that the compound shall be com¬ 
posed of the following proportions: Dried muck, four bushels; fowl manure, 
two bushels; ashes, one bushel; plaster, one and one-half bushels. Mix 
thoroughly, and spare no labor; for, in this matter, the effort expended will 
be well paid for. A little before planting, moisten the heap with water, or, 
better still, with urine; cover well over with old mats, and let it lie till 
wanted for use. Apply it to beans, corn, or potatoes, at the rate of a hand¬ 
ful to a hill; and mix with the soil before dropping the seed. This will be 
found the best substitute for guano ever invented, and may bo depended on 
for bringing great crops of turnips, corn, potatoes, etc. 

Materials for Compost —In several of the States compost heap may be 
made of muck or earth for a basis; to this may be added leaves, catton-seed, 
ashes, gympsum, night soil, stable manure, trash from the fieicts (except 
weeds in seed), and all the slops from the houses and cabins. If desired, 
bone-dust may be added, but the fine artificial fertilizers will be better, if 
used by themselves. 

Value of Vegetable Substances— The tops of turnips, potatoes, beets, 
carrots and parsnips are very valuable and should not go to waste. Those 
of the beets are rich in nitrogen, while potato tops contain a large proportion 
of potash. All of them contain both in more or less quantity. They rot 
quickly, and should be added to the compost heap when unfit for other pur¬ 
poses. 

Facts Regarding Fertilizers —The raising of thirty bushels of wheat 
to the acre will remove from the land fifty-one pounds of nitrogen, twenty- 
four pounds of phosphoric acid and thirty-nine pounds of potash. This can 
be replaced by sixty pounds of sulphate of ammonia, 171 pounds of super¬ 
phosphate of lime, and seventy-seven pounds of chloride of potassium. 

Alternating Manure. —Market gardeners find it profitable to alternate 
stable with other manures rather than use the same kind continuously on 
the same land. Farmers can take a hint from this. Perhaps one reason 
w r hy phosphates have been so largely successful has been becauso the sta¬ 
ble manures previously used have been deficient in phosphoric acid. 

How to Use Hen Manure —The manure from the poultry house is 
valuable for any crop. It may be spread on grass very thinly, about two 
barrels per acre being enough. One way to get it fine is to spread it on the 
barn floor and thrash it with a flail, but a wet cloth should be tied around 
the mouth or nose while this is being done. 

Nitrogen for Potatoes. —Potatoes need nitrogen and potash. Fresh 
manures applied in spring increase the liability of disease. We believe po¬ 
tatoes can be raised profitably with chemicals, when farmers will experi¬ 
ment at home and learn how to buy just what is needed and nothing more. 

Nitrate of Soda for Wheat. —An authority avei’s that an application of 
100 pounds of nitrate of soda to an aci’e of wheat, when the ci'op looks weak, 
will show its benefit in a few days, not only improving it in growth, but 
largely increasing the yield. 





80 


THE FARM. 


Combining Ashes and Bones. —Doctor Nichols gives the following 
exact figures of the quantities used in reducing bones with ashes: Break 
one hundred pounds of bones into small fragments and pack them in a tight 
cask or box with one hundred pounds of good wood ashes, which have been 
previously mixed with twenty-five pounds of dry, water-slaked lime, and 
twelve pounds of powdered sal soda. Twenty gallons of water will saturate 
the mass, and more may be added as required. In two or three weeks the 
bones will be soft enough to turn out on the barn floor and be mixed with 
two bushels of good soil. We should prefer road dust to the soil. 

Fertilizers si Good Investment. —Fanners who have money at com¬ 
mand cannot easily put it in a more profitable investment than judicious 
outlay on their land. A careful use of good manure repays the expenditure, 
even during the course of many years, and draining Avet land is estimated 
to return from forty to eighty per cent, on the yearly cost. In the same Avay 
good stock pays far better than poor; good fencing, well selected fruit trees, 
carefully looked-after homesteads, all repay the money laid out, and, be¬ 
sides all that, add immensely to the comfort of the occupier. 

Top-Dressing in Winter. —Some farmers think that top-dressing AAdth 
manure is best done during the Avinter. In the fall the manure, unless very 
fine and evenly spread, will cover up injuriously much of the plant. When 
spread in Avinter, on the contrary, it acts as a mulch and a protection A\diile 
the plant is dormant, neutralizing the effects of freezing and thaAving. An 
authority on the subject advises that artificial fertilizers be spread on grain 
lands in the fall, and barnyard manure after the snow comes. 

A Good Garden Manure. —The manure produced by saAvdust Avhen 
used as a bedding for horses, is said to be a better fertilizer for certain gar¬ 
den crops than any other. When mixed Avith the soil in which celery is 
groAvn it is said to greatly benefit those plants. 

A Useful Hint. —Coal ashes, scattered on the stable floor, will absorb 
the liquid manure, prevent the cattle from slipping and falling, afford an 
excellent addition to the pickings of poultry around the place, and can after¬ 
wards be spread on the soil. 

Salt and Plaster on Lawns. —A dressing of salt and plaster on newly 
made laAvns will result in great benefit to the young grass roots, making 
them strong and hardy for wintering over. 

Bran as a Fertilizer —It is said by those who have tried it, that bran 
is as good as the best commercial fertilizers for potatoes and corn, and much 
cheaper. 


THE GARDEN 


Saving Seeds. —In saving seeds only the best specimens of each kind 
should be saved, and all inferior ones rejected; this is easy enough with such 
plants as squashes, cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, etc., care being used to 
save only the earliest, fairest, and most perfect specimens. The seed should 
be allowed to ripen thoroughly before taking it from the fruit, which will re¬ 
quire some weeks with squashes, after gathering from the vine; tomatoes 
are placed in the sun for a few days, and melon-seeds may be taken directly 
when the melon is fit to eat; seeds of this nature having a fleshy pulp are 
usually cleaned by allowing them to ferment in water for a day or two, when 
the pulp will easily wash off, after which the seed is spread upon a sheet in 
the sunshine to dry. Seeds of vines keep longer if not allowed to freeze; 
they will preserve their vitality five or six years if kept in a warm, dry place. 
A closet near a chimney is a good place, and, since mice and rats are fond of 
such tidbits as melon-seeds, it will be advisable to lock them up in a tin 
chest or other rat-proof arrangement. When saving seeds of beets, cabbage, 
turnip, etc., those who are most particular reject all but the seed grown on 
the leading stem. Beet-seed is cleaned by threshing, sifting, and picking 
over to get out the sticks; it varies much in size, and should be separated 
by a sieve, in order to have it run evenly through the seed drill, for it is the 
most troublesome of all seed to sow evenly. Perhaps some inventor will 
discover a method of shelling out best seeds, so that they can be sown evenly; 
if this could be done, one of the chief items of labor in raising beets would 
be greatly lightened, and a saving of more than half the seed would be 
effected also; for the beet-seed as now sown is a pod containing two to five 
seeds each, and is so rough and uneven in shape as to give much trouble to 
sow it evenly with a drill; in fact, to insure a good stand, very heavy seed¬ 
ing and laborious thinning are essential. If the pod could be crushed ana 
the seed shelled out, it could then be drilled in as evenly as any other seed. 
Seeds of all kinds keep best in a dry, even temperature. When to be kept 
in large lots, they may be put in bags and hung from the ceiling of the room, 
to keep them from the mice. Most seeds are good from two to five years, if 
carefully kept; onion-seed, however, is very inferior after the first year, and 
worthless after the second. When old seed is to be used, it should be previ¬ 
ously tested by sowing a counted lot in a hot-bed or other suitable place, 
and counting the number of plants that come up, and noting the vigor of the 
plants; the plants from old seed are usually less vigorous thap from fr e0 b 
seed, and sometimes are so weak as to be worthless. 

The Best Garden Vegetables. —The following is an extract from an 
essay on “Market Gardening,” read before the American Nurserymen's 
Association, at Dayton, 0.: Within the past dozen years many important ad¬ 
vances have been made in earliness and in quality of vegetables. Among 
beets we have the Egyptian, which matures at least five days ahead of any 
other variety, except the Old Bassano, which was too light in color to suit; 
fp cabbages, the Early Summer; and in cauliflower, the Snowball; in celery. 



82 


THE FARM. 


the Golden Dwarf; and the next season is likely to develop a great improve¬ 
ment in the Ntew White Walnut celery—a stout, solid kind, having a rich, 
walnut-like flavor, and graceful feather-like foliage. In lettuce, the black- 
seeded Simpson and the White Summer Cabbage lettuce now lead all the 
out-door varieties. In muskmelons, the Hackensack, of which many thou¬ 
sand acres are grown for the New York market, is almost exclusively planted. 
In peas, a great improvement is developed in the dwarf variety known as 
American Wonder, thoirgh for general early crop the improved Dan O’Rourke 
is best. Potatoes vary so much in different localities that it is difficult to 
say which of the new sorts are most valued; we find, however, that in our 
general trade more of Beauty of Hebron is planted than any other of the new 
sorts. In radishes, the Round Dark Red is now the main favorite, while 
next in order comes White Tipped Turnip. In spinach, the Savoy and the 
new Thick-Leaved are the best for general crop, though we find that the 
Savoy should not be sown in spring, as it runs too quickly to seed. Though 
every year brings out new claimants for favor in tomatoes, it is my convic¬ 
tion that we have not advanced one day in earliness, unless in such varieties 
as Key’s Prolific and Little Gem (which are of poor quality), in twenty-five 
years, although we have now many varieties somewhat improved in quality. 
The varieties now most popular with New York market gardeners are Acme 
and Paragon, though, from the unusual advertising given to Trophy, the 
general cultivation of that is greater than any other; but, as it is usually 
found now, it is far inferior to many others, besides being one of the latest. 

Rotation of Garden Crops. —Have you not frequently noticed that 
some men change their garden spots every few years ? If you ask them why 
they do so, they will tell you that vegetables don’t seem to do well there 
after a few years’ cropping. 

In starting a garden on an ordinary piece of ground, which has not before 
been used for this purpose, two or three years are required to get it pul¬ 
verized and enriched sufficiently to produce a first-class crop, hence the 
necessity for retaining the same piece of ground for garden pui'poses. This can 
be done by adopting a proper system of rotation. It is a good plan to make 
a diagram of the plot used for a garden, and have it marked off into divisions 
of suitable proportions for the vegetables required. Each division should be 
numbered, or, what is just as good, the name of the vegetable raised there 
written upon it. These diagrams drawn each year should be carefully pre¬ 
served, so that, by referring to them, one could ascertain just what had been 
raised on each particular division for years back, and by this means keep up 
a systematic rotation. 

For convenience, the garden-plot should be long and narrow, thus 
enabling a horse cultivator to be used to advantage. I have noticed that 
most gardens are nearly square in form, but have never yet been given a 
good reason for this. 

A garden 8x20 rods in size can be cultivated with a horse at less expense 
and with less work than a garden 3x4 rods can be worked by hand, as gar¬ 
dens of this size usually are. 

Such garden vegetables as rhubarb, asparagus, and others of a like kind, 
requiring two or more years to reach the proper bearing condition, should, 
of course, be given a permanent place for several seasons; but they, too, 
need removing about once in four years, in order to get the best possible re¬ 
sults. They Should never be so located as to interfere with the cultivation 
of other vegetables, 


THE GAB HEN. 


83 


Many gardeners put these plants among their small fruits, but they are 
as much in the way there as anywhere in the vegetable garden. They will 
not do so well, and are also a heavy drain on the soil, causing an injury to 
the bushes about them. The best way is to give them one of the long, nar¬ 
row divisions, above referred to, clear through the length of the garden. 

How to Make a Good Garden. —The soil must be well drained, 
either naturally or artificially. It must be rich; and the manure should be 
thoroughly worked into the soil. Plow the land in the autumn, and plow it 
again as early as possible in the spring. If there is any rubbish, remove it 
or dig holes and bury it below the reach of the plow. Then ploAV again, or 
work the land Avitli a cultivator. I take off some of the inside teeth of the 
cultivator, so that the horse can draw the cultivator as deep, or nearly as 
deep, as the land has been plowed. This work should be done when the 
soil is dry and the Aveather warm. You cannot possibly stir the soil too much 
while the sun is shining. It lets in the sun’s rays and warms and melloAvs 
the soil. On light, sandy soil, thoroughly and deeply plowed and manured 
the fall previous, there are many crops Avliich can be soAA'n to advantage 
Avithout again plowing in the spring. It often happens in this latitude that 
five or six inches of the surface soil in the spring is thawed out and dry 
enough to Avork, Avhile underneath the ground is frozen solid. If Ave wait 
till this frozen soil can be ploAved, we frequently lose a good opportunity for 
putting in early crops of peas, potatoes, onions, cabbage, lettuce, radish, 
spinach, etc. And besides, the soil that Ave turn up with the ploAV, and 
Avliich conies to the surface, and in Avhich Ave sow the seed, is cold and damp, 
Avhile the surface soil which Ave turn under is warm and dry. 

Transplanting. —Inexperienced gardeners are apt to think that a rainy 
day is the only fit time for setting out plants, and Avill often delay a week or 
tAvo longer than is necessary waiting for it, and finally plant when the ground 
is soaked and Avhen they sink to their ankles in the soil. That is the worst 
time that could possibly be chosen, excepting when the ground is congealed 
Avith cold. For it is impossible that the mold, sticky and clammy AA’hile wet, 
can filter among the roots, or remain of suitable texture for them to spread 
themselves in, permeable to them and equally pervious to the air in every 
part AAdthout anywhere exposing their tender parts to actual contact in 
chambers of corrosive oxygen. A rainy day is an advantage if the plants are 
set before the ground has become Avet, but the safe and sure way is to go for 
the plants as soon as the ground is fully prepared, no matter Iioav dry the 
Aveather. A pail or bucket should always be taken to carry the plants in, 
having a little water in the bottom. The roots being set in this will absorb 
until the plant is so gorged that it Avill endure a drying air after being set in 
place. If the ground is very dry, Avater should be poured in before plant¬ 
ing, which is very much better than poui’ing upon the surface, because of no 
injurious crust being formed, for a continually open surface during the 
growing season, to admit of free circulation of air and capillary action from 
beloAv, is absolutely essential to free, profitable groAvth. 

Mushroom Culture. —Of all the edible mushrooms, the common 
Meadow Mushroom (Agaricus edulis) is the only one adapted for culture, 
and, with proper care and management, it can be groAvn almost anywhere 
and at all seasons. NoAvhere has the cultivation of this delicacy reached so 
fiigh a state of perfection as in the vicinity of Paris, in France, and the fol- 
loAving description of the methods practiced there, given by Messrs. Yil- 


84 


THE FARM. 




morin-Andrieux, will, therefore, bo of interest to those who contemplate 
mushroom culture: 

The chief conditions to obtain a satisfactory result consist in growing 
mushrooms in a very rich soil and under a genial, as nearly as possible even, 
temperature. To secure this latter condition, the culture is often carried on 

in cellars; but any other locality, such as 
sheds, out-houses, stables, railway arches, 
etc., will suit as well, provided that either 
naturally or by artificial means the tempera¬ 
ture does not exceed 86 degrees, nor fall lower 
than 50 degrees Falir. 

The first thing to be considered after the 
choice of a convenient locality is the prepara¬ 
tion of the mushroom bed. The most essen- 
tub. tial material being horse droppings, prefer¬ 

ence to be given to those of well-nourished 
animals, collected as dry and as free from straw as possible. This ferment¬ 
ing material would be too hot to bo used by itself at once; to reduce the 
strength it should be well mixed with one-fourth or one-fifth of its bulk of 
good garden soil, when the bed may be prepared immediately, the fermen¬ 
tation being slow and the heat produced only moderate and even. Care 
should be taken to construct the bed in a dry placo, and to make the sides 
firm and tidy. If it is in¬ 
tended to use the horse- 
dung b y itself, as the 
mushroom growers around 
Paris do, it is necessary to 
allow the first heat to 
evaporate, which is done 
by piling the droppings as 
they come from the stable 
in successive layers to the 
height of about three feet, 
in a dry spot, removing all 
foreign matter from it and 
pressing it into a compact 
mass, sprinkling with wa¬ 
ter such portions as are 
very dry. In this state it 
is to be loft till the most 
violent fermentation has 
passed, which is generally 
the case in six to ten days, 
when the heap is to be re¬ 
made, taking care that 
those portions which were 
outside , and consequently 
less fermented, are placed inside, to insure an equal temperature. It should 
be well mixed and firmly placed, so that the whole may be of a similar 
texture. 


MOVABLE BEDS AGAINST A WALL. 


Generally, a few' days after being remade, the fermentation is so strong as 
to render it necessary to be made up a third time. 

Sometimes, after the second operation^ it is ready for the beds being 
























85 


THE a AUDEN. 




Made, which May be seen when the heating material has become brown, the 
straw which is mixed with it has lost almost entirely its consistence, when it 
has become greasy, and the smell is not longer the same as when fresh. It 
is difficult to obtain a good material without preparing a heap of at least three 
feet each way; and if that quantity is not required for making the beds, the 
surplus May with advantage be used in the kitchen-garden. 

The material is now brought to the plaee where the beds are to be made, 
which may be of any 
form atid size; but 
experience has 
shown that the best 
way to make use of 
space and material 
is to raise the beds 
to a height of from 
twenty to twenty- 
four inches, with a 
width of about the 
same at the founda¬ 
tion. An excessive 
rise of the tempera¬ 
ture, in consequence bed w t ith two sides partially uncovered. 
of renewed fermen¬ 
tation, is to be less feared than when the beds are of larger dimensions. 
When a large place is at disposal, preference is given to beds with two slant¬ 
ing sides; when the beds are resting against a wall, and consequently pre¬ 
sent but one available side, the width ought to be less than the height. 

Barrels sawn in two, so that each part forms a tub, are well adapted to 
form beds, as well as simple shelves on which sugar-loaf-shaped beds may 
be raised, which, already formed, may be carried into cellars, etc., where 
the introduction of the raw materials would be objectionable. 

The beds thus established 
should bo left for a few days 
before spawning, to see 
whether the fermentation 
will not be renewed with ex¬ 
cessive vigor, which may be 
ascertained by the touch oJ 
the hand, but it is safer to 
use the thermometer; as long 
as the temperature exceeds 
86 degrees Falir. the bed is 
too hot, and it should be al¬ 
lowed to cool by itself, or by making openings with a stick to allow the heat 
to escape. 

When the temperature remains at 76 degrees, it is time for spawning. 
Prepared spawn is found in the seed stores at all times, which may bo kept 
without trouble from year to year. The spawn sold in France is not in 
bricks or solid lumps, as in England, but in light masses of scarcely halt- 


MOVABLE SHELF. 


decomposed loose and dry litter. 

A few days before spawning, it is advisable to expose the spawn to a 
moderately warm moisture, which will insure a safer and more rapid growth; 
it should be broken up in pieces about the length and thickness of the hand 















8(5 


THE FARM. 


by half that width, and inserted into the bed at a distance of ten to twelve 
inches each way; on beds twenty to twenty-four inches in height, which are 
mostly in use, it should be inserted in two rows, dove-tail fashion. 

Where the bed is situated in a place under cover and of an even temper¬ 
ature, nothing else is to be done but to wait for the growth; if, however, the 
bed is placed in the open air and exposed to change of the weather, it must 
be covered with long litter or hay to keep a uniform temperature all around 
the bed. 

Under favorable circumstances, and if the work has been done well, the 
spawn ought to show activity in seven or eight days; it is advisable to look 
to it, and to replace such spawn as might not thrive, which can be seen by 
the absence of white filaments in the surrounding materials. 

Fifteen to twenty days later the spawn ought to have taken possession of 
the whole bed and should come to the surface; the top and sides of the bed 
should then be covered with soil, for which a light mold in preference to a 
heavy one should be used, slightly moistening it, without making it too wet. 
If it does not naturally contain saltpetre, it would be good to administer a 
small quantity of salt or saltpetre, or to give it a watering of liquid manure. 

The covering with soil should not exceed more than an inch in depth, 
and be pressed strongly so as to adhere firmly; watering should only be 
done where the soil becomes very dry. Where a covering has been re¬ 
moved for some purpose it must be replaced at once. 

A few weeks after, according to the state of temperature, more or less, 
the mushrooms will appear. In gathering them care should be taken to fill 
the empty spaces with the same soil as used for the covering. Leaving the 
bed to itself, it will produce from two to three months; but its fertility may 
be prolonged by careful waterings at a temperature of 68 degrees to 86 de¬ 
grees Fahr., with an admixture of guano or saltpetre. 

By establishing under cover three or four beds annually in succession, a 
continued supply may be reckoned upon; besides, during the summer 
months, beds may be raised out-of-doors at very little expense, securing an 
abundant supply. Frames in which vegetables are forced may in the inter¬ 
vals be used for mushroom culture with very good results, providing the 
temperature be congenial, and that the young mushrooms are slightly pro¬ 
tected with soil as soon as they appear .—The American Garden. 

Asparagus. —A writer in the Massachusetts Ploughman says: I desire to 
impress upon the attention of our farmers the importance of using asparagus 
more largely as a luxury of the table. It is more rarely to be found in coun¬ 
try gardens than any other esculent, and when found hard to take note of, 
as the plat is scarcely bigger than a door mat and furnishes about enough 
shoots for one square meal. When an expenditure of two or three dollars 
■will provide a bed which will last twenty or twenty-five years, and annually 
furnish one of the earliest and most delicious vegetables, it seems almost 
impossible to account for its being so much neglected by the farming com¬ 
munity. It is not only an appetizer and a luxury but a very valuable diure¬ 
tic, and especially beneficial to sedentary persons and all who are troubled 
with symptoms of gravel. Our best growers make a bunch of sixteen stalks 
w r eigh four pounds. Almost every one w T ho cultivates vegetables knows 
how to make an asparagus bed, but the opinions as to its after treatment 
are vei-y discordant. For a private family the bed should not be less than 
five feet wide and twenty feet long. Dig out the ground two, or better, 
three feet deep,, and fill up with chips, sawdust or sticks of wood packed 


TEE GARDEN. 


87 


close together five or six inches from the bottom. Put on this six inches of 
the strongest stable manure, and fill up to the top with manure and dirt, 
about half and half. The whole space need not be dug out at once, but the 
bed can be made in the usual mode of trenching. The roots may now be 
put in over the entire bed ten inches apart, or in single rows two feet apart, 
and ten inches plant from plant, and then covered with rich soil about three 
inches deep, and over the whole a peck of salt and a peck of ashes mixed to¬ 
gether, sown. 

Asparagus, being a marine plant requiring salt and alkalies for fertilizers, 
needs in most localities an annual supply of these materials, though culti¬ 
vators living within the influence of the sea-coast say they can find no bene¬ 
fit in using salt. The beds, of course, are to be kept clean at all times, and 
an abundant supply of liquid manure from the stable or washroom during 
the summer will be found the best method of manuring. The ordinary 
method of after culture in this country is to let the stalks grow until Novem¬ 
ber, then cut them down. Cover the bed with coarse manure, and in the 
spring fork it in. In France the stems are cut down to about thirteen inches. 
In England they do as we, cutting down to the ground, but uncovering the 
stools, so as to leave on only a very slight covering of soil. Now, for small 
gardens in which asparagus is grown for family use, I doubt the propriety of 
cutting down the stalks in the fall, and consider it the best plan to let them 
stand until spring, and then put on the bed all the old pea-brush or other 
loose dry material, and burn them and the stalks together, and the ashes 
will furnish all the manure required, and the bed go on improving indefi¬ 
nitely. The practice of the Romans was to “burn the haulm in its own 
place.” And later authorities say, “Cut the dry tops close early in the 
spring, spread and burn them evenly on the ground, hoe and rake the beds 
over, and you will have large crops for twenty-five years.” Not far from my 
residence is an asparagus-bed which the present owner, now an octogenarian, 
helped make more than half a century ago. The only manuring it has re¬ 
ceived for the latter half that period is the annual spring burning of the 
stalks and refuse material on the bed, and it is not only vigorous, but im¬ 
proving, sending up new shoots to fill the vacant places occasioned by too 
late cutting. If this practice works well in Berkshire, where the frost de¬ 
scends to the depth of several feet, and asparagus-beds are not injured, 
though covered with nothing but the haulms, during such a winter as last, 
when the white mantle of snow was wanting, it would seem to be adapted to 
any climate. 

The greatest injury to beds of asparagus is cutting too late. Cut all the 
shoots at a suitable age up to the 20th of June. Always cut below the sur¬ 
face. In Spain, previously to the cutting, the bed is covered lightly with 
dead leaves to the depth of about six or eight inches, and the cutting does 
not commence till the plants peep through this covering. In France the 
cultivators form over each stool a conical lump of soil, like a large mole-hill, 
ten to twelve inches high, in early spring or soon as the ground is dry, and 
the asparagus is gathered when it pushes an inch or two above the hills. In 
the climate of Paris the cutting is never prolonged beyond the middle of 
June. The experience of nearly all who grow this vegetable is, that if some 
shoots are not allowed to go to seed, the plants will soon become weakened, 
and die. 

Celery. —Our manner of treating the celery crop of late years is very 
much simplified, says Mr. Peter Henderson. Instead of sowing the seed in 



88 


THE FA 7 IM. 


a liot-bed or cold frame, as practiced in Europe, it is sown in the open 
ground, as soon as it is fit to work, in April, and kept carefully clear of 
Aveeds until the time of planting, in June and July. In our warmer climate, 
if raised in hot-beds, as in England, a majority of the plants would run to 
seed. The tops are shorn off once or twice before planting, so as to insure 
“ stocky ” plants, Avhich suffer less on being transplanted. 

After the ground has been nicely prepared, lines are struck out on the 
level surface, three feet apart, and the plants set six inches apart in rows. 
If the weather is dry at the time of planting, great care should be taken that 
the roots are properly “firmed.” Our custom is to turn back on the row, 
and press by the side of each plant gently with the foot. This compacts the 
Boil, and partially excludes the air from the roots until new rootlets are 
formed, which will usually be in forty-eight hours, after which all danger is 
ever. This practice of pressing the soil closely around the roots is essential 
in planting of all kinds, and millions of plants are annually destroyed by its 
omission. After the planting of the celery is completed, nothing further is 
to be done for six or seven weeks, except running through between the rows 
with the cultivator or hoe, and freeing the plants of weeds, until they get 
strong enough to crowd them down. This will bring us to about the middle 
of August, by which time we have usually that moist and cold atmosphere 
essential to the growth of celery. Then we begin the “ earthing up ” neces¬ 
sary for the blanching and whitening of that which is wanted for use during 
the months of September, October, and November. The first operation is 
that of “handling,” as we term it; that is, after all the soil has been drawn 
up against the plant with the hoe, it is further drawn close around each 
plant by the hand, firm enough to keep the leaves in an upright position and 
prevent them from spreading. This being done, mor§ soil is drawn against 
the row (either by the plow or hoe, as circumstances require), so as to keep 
the plant in this upright position. The blanching process must, however, 
be finished by the spade, which is done by digging the soil from between the 
rows, and banking it up clear to the top on each side of the row of celery. 
Three feet is ample distance between the dwarf varieties, but when larger 
sorts are used the width of the rows must be at least four and a half or five 
feet. 

All Easy Method of Blanching Celery .—The common and laborious 
process of earthing up and winter storage of celery is doubtless a great ob¬ 
stacle in the way of its culture by many busy farmers. The Country Gentle¬ 
man suggests this easy method of blanching, which does away altogether 
with the necessity of trenches or banking, at least for moderate supplies: 
“ If intended for winter blanching, about the middle of November they are 
taken up on a dry day and placed in water-tight troughs or other vessels in 
a quite dark cellar, the plants standing erect and closely together. Enough 
water is poured on the roots to cover them, and the supply is continued 
through the winter as it evaporates. This constitutes the entire labor. The 
stalks are gradually and handsomely blanched in the darkness, and many 
new ones spring up during the winter months, especially if the apartment is 
not very cold, and these new shoots are remarkable for their delicacy and 
perfect freedom from any particle of rust, appearing like polished ivory. A 
small separate apartment in the cellar, without windows, answers well for 
this purpose. Boxes, tubs, or any vessels which will hold a few inches of 
water may be employed. The plants, as grown in the open ground, need 
not be earthed up at all, or they may be slightly earthed to bring them into 


TEE GAEDEtf. ' 89 

a more compact form, if desired. Probably the best Avay would be to adopt 
the course which is sometimes employed of setting out the plants in summer 
on the level surface of deep, rich soil, eight or ten inches or a foot apart each 
way, in order that their close growth may tend to give them a more upright 
form. They are merely kept clean by hoeing through the season. 

Cauliflower. —The growing of cauliflowers is receiving more attention 
than formerly, particularly so the earlier varieties. The crops of Dwarf 
Erfurt and Snowball begin to come forward in June, and these, with the 
later sorts, are in market almost without intermission until November. 
Cauliflowers require very high cultivation, even more so than cabbages, and 
plenty of moisture. Whether grown in the kitchen garden or upon a large 
scale, the crop is a paying one. The demand is evidently rapidly increasing, 
and there is no more delicious vegetable grown. 

Cold-frame plants are probably the best and hardiest for early crops; the 
frames, however, need rather more protection during cold nights than is re¬ 
quired for cabbage plants. Seeds sown in hot-beds in February will pro¬ 
duce plants that are not much, if any, inferior to cold-frame plants. They 
should be transplanted out once before setting in the open ground, and also 
should be gradually hardened by exposure; in this way they may be in con¬ 
dition to set out as early in April as the ground will permit. Set the early 
sorts about two feet by fifteen inches, and cultivate the same as cabbages. 
Where irrigation is practicable, great advantage is thus obtained during a 
drought. 

For late cauliflowers, sow seed in open ground, from the middle of May 
till the middle of June, in hills, the same as directed for late cabbages. 
Thin to one plant in each hill; this avoids the drawbacks resulting from 
transplanting, in a dry time. When the plants first appear, they are liable to 
the attacks of a small black fly; guard against this by frequent dusting Avith 
plaster, which apply in the morning, while the dew is on. When the heads 
are forming, tie the leaves together at the top, thus avoiding discoloration by 
exposure to the sun. 

Tomato Culture. —Perhaps no other garden vegetable, says a com¬ 
petent authority, has grown more or faster in public favor than the tomato. 
It is one of the most profitable garden crops, if cultivated right and got into 
the market early. I have made tomato culture a special study for the last 
six or seven years, endeavoring to groAv the best and earliest tomatoes. 
I would get all the neAv varieties I could to test, cultivating them in the best 
Avay according to my knowledge and judgment to make the vines produce 
the earliest and nearest perfect fruit. I will give the mode of cultivating 
that I have found to be the best and most profitable way as yet. 

Start the plants in a hot-bed; soAvthe seeds in a box large enough to hold 
the required number of plants Avanted; soav in this box in rows one or tA\ r o 
inches apart the seeds thick, and insert in the hot-bed up to the top. When 
the plants have four or six leaves, transplant in another hot-bed four inches 
apart. Notice that the beds are the same or near the same temperature. 
The transplanting is done to give the plants more room and give them abun¬ 
dance of roots. The plants should be hardened by taking oft’ all cover, or 
if sash is used raise them of a warm, clear day. AYhen all danger of frost is 
past, transplant to the open ground. Break the ground deep and work it 
mellow, mixing Avith the soil all the manure that can be spared from other 
crops, for the richer the soil, if it is warm, the better. Mark off the roAvs 
five feet apart; put one or cavo shovelfuls of rich, Avell-rotted manure every 


90 THE HARM. 

three feet in the rows, working it well with the soil, and set the plant Some 
deeper than it was in the bed. Before taking the plants up, wet the bed 
thoroughly, and take up as much soil with the plant as you can. Set in cloudy 
weather, if you can, if the weather is warm. The least check the plants re¬ 
ceive the better. As soon as they start to grow, begin to cultivate them. 
Cultivate the balk or space between the rows, deep and thoroughly, raking 
the ground level. Cultivate every three days, if the weather will admit. 
Remember, tillage is earliness! Tillage is manure. 

As soon as the laterals or suckers appear keep them off. At the second or 
third cultivation top-dress the ground with hen manure and work it in the 
soil. If you have but little hen manure, just put it around the hills. Keep 
the vines nicely and well tied up to stakes. As soon as the fruit begins to 
form, go through the vines and keep all imperfect, deformed fruit off and all 
laterals. Sell by the number, three to five cents each. Sell to the consumer; 
they are the ones to appreciate nice fruit, and will pay for it too. 

As soon as the fruit is grown let the suckers alone; they will give you 
fruit later. Varieties—Perfection, Paragon; or Acme is very nice, but I pre¬ 
fer the two first. 

Training Tomato Plants. —There is no doubt that a greater quantity 
of desirable fruit is obtained when the branches of each tomato plant are 
elevated on brush or frames, as the fruit is by this means exposed to sun and 
air; oftentimes only one stake is employed; any arrangement that brings 
about the required exposure and keeps the fruit from the ground will serve 
a good purpose. 

The maturity of the first fruit that sets may be greatly accelerated by 
pinching off the extremities of the tops and the surrounding shoots that 
appear. A good rule is to stop side shoots at the first blossom. 

A novel method of training the tomato plant appeared in a report of the 
Maine Pomological Society. Stakes seven or eight feet long were inserted in 
the ground the last of May, three feet apart, in a warm, sheltered location, 
and strong tomato plants were procured, which had been started under a 
glass and contained one or two blossom buds. These were planted near the 
stakes. The plant Avas then tied to the stake with listing, and all the side 
branches which had pushed at the axillar or angles formed by the separation 
of the leaves, were pinched or cut out with scissors, so as to compel the plant 
to groAV on a single stem; and every week during the season, these branches 
Avere removed, and the stems, from time to time, Avere tied to the stake. 
When a sufficient number of clusters had been formed, the remainder were 
removed, so as to concentrate the AA T hole energies of the plant to the growth 
and ripening of the remaining tomatoes; and the heavier branches were sup¬ 
ported by tying them to the stakes. It Avas claimed for this method that the 
ripening of the fruit was not only hastened, but its size increased. 

Late Tomatoe*.— To raise late tomatoes a good plan is to stick into each 
Avatermelon hill a tomato plant. They do not interfere Avith the former, 
and come in after the garden crop gives out. Those coming in late are the 
best for canning and putting up for winter use. 

Onion Growing._A successful gardener writes: Let me say to those 
who, by reason of repeated failures, have become discouraged, and aban¬ 
doned the groAving of onions, that if they Avill put the folloAving directions in 
practice they Avill be astonished at the result. One of the most important 
and first considerations is the soil, for it is of no more use to try on unsuit- 


The garjdeh. 9i 

able soil than it is to “ spit against the wind,” and if you attempt it you will 
only “ get your labor for your pains.” The soil must be clean, rich, and 
light, not a gravelly kind, or one so dry as to suffer from drouth—sandy 
loam is the best. Next, the ground should be heavily salted, and this weil 
worked in before soAving. The sowing should be done in April, and as early 
in the month as possible; “ delay is dangerous.” With a heavy roller, or 
the feet, or in some Avay, the ground in which the seeds lie should be pressed 
down quite hard. Weeding should be attended to as soon as you can safely 
do so, and as often as the grass (which is the only weed that Avill be likely 
to appear if the ground has been heavily salted) appears and is large 
enough to pull (the smaller the better), being careful not to throw earth 
upon the onions in any way or at any time during their growth. FoIIoav 
these rules, and if Aveather favors, success is certain, and the weather must 
be quite unusual to cause failure. The tops should be left on the bed or 
field to rot, or to spade or ploAV in; and onions improve by being groAvn on 
the same ground year after year. While I believe it to be better to work the 
soil up fine for the reception of the seed, and after sowing to press the 
ground doAA r n hard upon the seed, yet I have known very good crops groAvn 
by making a groove or furrow with a sharp instrument in unploAved ground, 
covering the seed Avith the earth thrown out by the process, pressing it doAvn, 
a heavy coat of manure having been applied as a top dressing the fall be¬ 
fore, and raked or burnt off before sowing. Top dressing is a good practice 
for onions, whether the land is ploAved or not. PIoav shallow if you ploAV 
at all. 

A New Method of Raising Onions.— A neAV method of onion-grOAving 
is strongly recommended by a French horticulturist. Some of the seedlings 
in the original bed should be left standing at intervals of about a couple of 
inches, and the spaces betAveen them caused by the removal of the rest, 
filled in with good garden mold mixed Avith pigeon’s dung, or ordinary 
faeces. The beds must be kept well Avatered, and it is said the resulting 
crop will astonish the groAver. 

Keeping Winter Squashes. —rMany farmers are at a loss to know how 
some are successful in keeping their squashes in good condition, until May 
or June, while they lose most of theirs before the end of February; they 
usually attribute their want of success to causes beyond their control, Avhen 
a careful investigation Avould sIioav that mismanagement Avas the principal 
cause. Squashes to keep well must, first, be well ripened; second, they 
should be gathered before heavy frosts come; third, should be Avell dried; 
fourth, the shell should be Avell glazed over, and Avhile it need not be thick 
it should be hard; fifth, they should be kept where the temperature is \ T ery 
even, never very cold, or very hot; sixth, in handling, great care should be 
taken not to bruise them; this is of the highest importance. Many farmers 
leave their squashes out until the frost kills the vines; the squashes are 
thus left exposed to the cold Avinds, and they are frequently left until it is 
cold enough to freeze water, and change the color of the tops of the 
squashes; this is fatal to their good keeping. Others, when they find that 
cold Aveather has come, hurry them in just as night sets in, and in their 
haste to get them under cover, they load them into the Avagon as though 
they Avere stones; thus bruising nine out of every ten to a degree that causes 
them to rot by Thanksgiving time. 

Squashes are often stored in the barn, in one heap, until they get chilled, 
Avhen they are carried into a warm, damp cellar, where they soon rot, and 


92 


Tut: fa n M. 


the owner is at a loss to know the reason. When stored in heaps, if tii£J 
storehouse be dry, the under squashes will send out moisture in such quan¬ 
tities as to keep the whole heap surrounded by moisture. Squashes to keep 
well, sliould not only be kept in a dry atmosphere with a very even tempera¬ 
ture, but they should be spread on the floor, or on shelves, so that the air 
can easily pass between them. 

All of the soft shell and unripe squashes should be disposed of as soon 
as possible after they are harvested, and only the hard shell and perfectly 
ripe ones should be kept for winter; crookneck squashes keep best with 
most people; the reason probably is, they are ripe and are handled with 
care, and are usually hung up in a dry place. The same treatment of mar¬ 
row squashes would no doubt secure very satisfactory results. 

Squash Culture. —A successful raiser of squashes says he manages in 
this way: I dig holes as deep as I conveniently can with a hoe, six feet apart, 
close by the side of early peas or potatoes. As soon as the weather will per¬ 
mit I stamp a wheelbarrow of unfermented manure in each hole, pour in a 
pail of water, and haul over the manure six inches of earth, being careful 
that the hill is no higher than the surrounding surface. Plant ten or 
twelve seeds in each hill; when they begin to run, thin to two vines in each 
hill. The potatoes will be fit for family use before the squashes begin to 
run, and can be dug ahead of them, leaving the ground mellow, so that the 
squash vines will root at every joint. This is a great saving of ground in a 
small garden. Train them all one way. 

Experiments in Melon and Squash Culture. —A practical gardener 
makes the following statement: “ Last year, as a test of a frequent practice 
among growers of melons and squashes, I pinched the ends of the long main 
shoots of the melons, squashes, and cucumbers, and left some to run at their 
own will. One squash-plant sent out a single stem reaching more than forty 
feet, but did not bear any fruit. Another plant was pinched until it formed 
a compact mass of intermingling side-shoots eight feet square, and it bore 
sixteen squashes. The present year a muskmelon-plant thus pinched 
in, covered the space allotted to it, and it set twenty-three specimens of 
fruit; the most of them were pinched off. The pinching causes many lateral 
branches, which latter produce the female or fertile blossoms, while the 
main vines produce only the male blossoms. The difference in favor of the 
yield of an acre of melons treated by this pinching process may easily 
amount to 100 barrels.” 

Hints oil Melon Culture—A correspondent at Brighton, Ill., writes to 
an agricultural paper: “ Of course everybody who knows anything at all 
about melon culture understands that melons do best on warm sandy land, 
but everybody, perhaps, don’t know that I have raised fine melons on heavy 
clay soil. I put the land in first-rate condition and fertilize in the hill with 
well-rotted barnyard manure. I also raise the hills a few inches above the 
level to make the ground warmer and dryer. I never put seed in the ground 
until the xveather is settled and the soil is dry and warm. I use plenty of 
seed, so as to insure a good stand. The very day the vines begin to show 
green above ground I begin sprinkling the hills with bone-dust, which opera¬ 
tion I repeat every day until they are out of reach of the striped bug, that 
foe to melon patches. Now I don’t say that sprinkling with bone-dust is a 
sure preventive in all cases to the bug, but it has proved a paying applica¬ 
tion to me. I have had fewer bugs in my melon patch since I began using 


THE a ARDEN. 


93 


it, and it also acts as a tonic to the vines, making them more vigorous. I do 
not confine the applications of bone dust to melon vines, but use it where- 
ever I fear the striped bugs.” 

A New Method of Watermelon Culture— A correspondent of the 
Rural New Yorker describes the following method by which an extraor¬ 
dinary crop of watermelons was raised: Holes were dug ten feet apart each 
way, eighteen inches square and fifteen inches deep. These holes were filled 
with well-rotted manure, which was thoroughly incorporated with the soil. 
A low, flat hill was then made and seed planted. When the vines were large 
enough to begin to run, the whole surface was covered to the depth of a foot 
or fifteen inches with wheat straw. The straw was placed close up around 
the vines. No cultivation whatever was given afterward; no weeds or grass 
grew. The vines spread over the straw, and the melons matured clean and 
nice. The yield was abundant, and the experiment an entire success. This 
is surely worth trying. 

Boxes for Melons and Cucumbers. —It is a good plan to make boxes, 
say twelve inches square and eight inches high, without bottom or top; these, 
placed over the cucumber or melon hills, and covered with grass, give an 
impetus to the plants early in the season that nothing short of a liot-bed will 
effect. If very early, place a little fresh manure around these boxes to keep 
the contents warm. It is astonishing what an effect this simple contrivance 
Avill produce; and not only is it valuable for protection from the cold weather, 
but it is equally valuable as a protection from melon bugs and other predatory 
insects that seem to watch for our choicest esculents. 

Cucumbers on Trellises. —No one who has not tried it can have any 
idea of the luxurious growth of a cucumber when trained on a stake, which 
has a set of stubby side branches left along its length, and the crop on some 
so trained was enormous. By this the vines occupy less space, and it is the 
natural habit of the cucumber to climb instead of trailing on the ground. 

How to Grow Early Cabbages. —A successful gardener writes: I 
sow the seeds of the kinds I wish to grow in February or first of March, in 
small or shallow boxes, in forcing-pit, hot-bed, or if these are not to be had, 
a sunny window of the house will do. The boxes I use are eighteen by 
twenty-four inches, three inches deep, made of one-half inch boards. The 
kinds of early cabbage I generally raise are Early Jersey Wakefield (best if 
pure), Winningstadt, Early Summer and Fottler’s Early Drumhead. The 
first two for early, the others for second early. I only treated the first two 
as above stated; the second early I sow in common hot-beds from the 1st to 
the 15th of March. After the seeds sown in boxes are up and about three 
inches high, it is necessary to transplant them in other boxes, like those they 
were sown in, about one and a half to two inches apart every way; or put 
one plant in each pot, and pots close together in boxes, treating the same as 
if planted in boxes. Pots are better than boxes, and I use them largely. 
About one week or ten days before planting in garden, they must be hard¬ 
ened off by exposing gradually, night and day, in the open air. I set my 
plants the end of April or beginning of May. The plants which are in boxes 
are taken in the boxes to the part of the garden where the ground is ready 
to plant. Plant Wakefield twenty inches in rows and Early Summer the 
same; the other kinds twenty-four inches. The rows should be thirty inches 
fipart, so that a cultivator can be used, Early radish, lettuce, spinach, etc.. 


94 


THE FAIiM. 


can be sown between the cabbage rows, and be out before the cabbage needs 
all the room. After cabbage, celery can be sown, on the same ground. In 
this way other vegetable plants can be raised to advantage. In fact, I have 
raised all the following with success: Early cauliflower, early lettuce, early 
kohlrabi, early savoy, early celery, early beet, early tomatoes, early 
cucumbers and early squashes. 

Fertilizer for Cabbage.—I find,” says a writer in the New England 
Homestead, “ that cabbage needs more hoeing and stirring of the soil than 
almost any other crop. Neither do I approve of too much stable manure, 
except for an early crop, for it»has a tendency to dry the soil and does not 
furnish potash enough. I had much rather have tobacco stems or stalks, cut 
up fine and plowed under broadcast, with some chemicals in the drill, for a 
medium or late crop. As to chemicals, whether to be used alone or in com¬ 
bination with other manures, I recommend this formula as being best and 
cheapest, which every farmer must make for himself: Two hundred pounds 
of dry ground fish, two hundred pounds of bone meal dissolved in sulphuric 
acid, two hundred pounds castor pomace and one hundred pounds of 
muriate potash, or more if the potash salts (kainit) are used. The fish and 
castor pomace furnish ammonia in quick and slow forms; the bone, phos¬ 
phoric acid; while the potash is very necessary to a cabbage crop. A ton of 
this mixture costs about $40, and is sufficient for an acre with light manuring, 
or half the quantity if manure is used liberally. This is the best cabbage 
grower I have found. With it and tobacco stalks, used as described, I raised 
cabbages that weighed over twenty pounds. One dozen, as they were taken 
to market, weighed over two hundred pounds.” 

Novel Method of Growing Cabbages —A novel plan for setting 

celery and cabbage plants which has several desirable points to recommend 
it, is to place them between the rows of your potatoes or sweet corn after the 
last hoeing. The growing coni or potatoes will afford a partial shade which 
is very desirable at the time of setting tho young plants and until they get 
fully established, and yet ripen and can be removed in time for them to 
occupy the ground as a second crop. Two crops on one piece of ground 
with ten dollars’ worth of labor and manure will afford more profit than one 
crop on which five dollars are expended. 

Parsley. —No garden is complete without a parsley bed, and nothing 
looks prettier or more ornamental. It is not only useful in soups, but for 
garnishing dishes of meats and vegetables it cannot be surpassed. The only 
objection to it is its slow germination. As a small bed of parsley is sufficient 
lor a family garden, the labor necessary to its cultivation is trifling, as the 
attention to a few square yards of ground can hardly be considered an 
encroachment upon regular work. It is a native of Sardinia and loves warm 
weather, but owing to the length of time required for the seeds to germinate, 
it should be sown very early. It the seed is soaked for twenty-four hours 
in warm water, previous to sowing, they will sprout in shorter time, or, what 
is better, mix them with earth dampened with warm water, and keep near 
the stove in a box until the seeds burst. The earth in the box should not 
be allowed to become dry from evaporation, but the moisture should be 
kept by frequent additions of warm water, care being observed not to have it 
too wet. The ground should be very rich, with well-rotted manure if any 
is used, spaded deep and fine, and Avell raked, in order that not the smallest 
lump or stone may remain. Then sow the seed in rows, mixed with radish, 


THE GARDEN. 


95 


ami cover lightly. As the radish will soon push through and show the 
rows, the grass can be kept down with the hand. 

Spinach. —Spinach, though an aristocratic crop on some accounts, may 
become also the one crop of the masses for early use, if they will only grow 
it. And this is the way: Wheel some manure upon the patch where your 
early garden peas were, spade the ground thoroughly, mark it off in drills 
eighteen inches apart and an inch or so deep, and sow to spinach. That is 
all there is to it. Sow the seed thickly in the rows, and when it has attained 
sufficient size to thin out, what a delicious dish of “ greens ” you will have 
this fall, at a season, too, when, although green things are generally no rarity, 
yet, because of their extreme delicacy and lusciousness, you will esteem 
them a great and rare treat. Then with the on-coming of freezing ground, 
cover with straw or litter of any kind. Let this remain till after the frost is 
out of the ground in the spring, when it may be taken off, and, with the first 
tulips of your flower garden, you will also have spinach greens for your din¬ 
ner—a most delicious and healthy dish. Moreover, if you do happen to have 
more than you want, just take them to the village market, and see how 
readily you can sell the surplus. Perhaps, indeed, you may thus establish 
quite a profitable local trade in this delicious crop. Try it. 

Poles for Beans and Oilier Climbers.—White birches and alders so 
commonly used for bean poles, are about the poorest, for they last only one 
season at the best, and sometimes break off at the surface of the ground, and 
let down the beautiful pyramid of green before the pods are ripe. White 
cedar from the swamps is durable, and the rough bark enables the vines to 
climb without any help from strings, but these are not always accessible. 
Red cedar is much more widely distributed, and on the whole makes the 
best bean pole. The wood is as durable as the white cedar, and young trees, 
from which poles are made, gi’ow quite stout at the ground, and, if well set, 
will resist very strong winds. A set of these poles will last for a generation. 
For bean poles, all the side branches are trimmed off, but for a support for 
ornamental climbers, these may be left on. A cedar, six or eight feet high, 
with the branches gradually shortened from below, upwards, makes an ex¬ 
cellent support for ornamental vines. One of these, covered with a clematis, 
or other showy climber, makes a pyramid of great beauty. It is well to pre¬ 
pare a supply of poles for beans and other plants before the work is 
pressing. 

Beets. —For beets the soil should be rich, mellow and deep. Plant in 
drills about two inches deep and the rows about twelve or fifteen inches 
apart. Set the seeds in the drills about two inches apart. For field culture 
the rows should be wide enough to admit the horse cultivator and the roots 
not nearer than one foot in the rows. The mangel-wurzel beets grow to a 
very large size, are coarse and wonderfully productive, making excellent 
food for cattle. Those who have never tried the mangels for stock have yet 
to learn of their great value for cattle, both for milk and meat. Then, they 
are juicy and refreshing, and add to the health and comfort of the animals. 
In no Avay can so much good food be grown as cheaply as in mangels. 

Tlie Melon Worm— The melon worm ( Phakellur a hyalinatalis) is about 
an inch and a quarter in length when mature, of a light yellowish-green 
color, and nearly translucent. The moth is remarkable for its beauty, its 
■wings being pearly-white bordered with a narrow band of black, its legs and 


96 


THE FARM. 



body white, and the abdomen terminated with a feather-like tuft tipped with 
white and black. In our accompanying illustration, the chrysalis, worm, 
and moth are shown. This worm belongs to the same genus as the pickle 
worm (PhakeUura mitidalis), the moth of the latter differing from that of 
the former in having the ground-work of the wings a bronze-yellow, and 
the black border a little broader. 

The melon worm is proving to be, in many parts of the country, a most 
destructive enemy to melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, and other cucurbita- 
ceous plants. It goes to work in an exceedingly business-like way, making 

skeletons of the plant 
leaves or excavating 
numerous cavities in 
the fruit where it ap¬ 
pears. Sometimes it 
forces its way into the 
melon until out of 
sight, though more 
frequently it makes a 
shallow cavity an 
eighth of an inch or 
more in depth, and 
in this pursues its 
work. 

Efficient remedies 
for this pest are still 
wanting. Paris 
green and London 
purple would proba¬ 
bly prove effective, 
but it is not safe to 
use these on account 
of their liability to 
poison those who eat 
the fruit. Pyretli- 
rum, or Persian In¬ 
sect Powder, might 
prove as effective in 
ridding the plants of 
the worms, and it has 
the melon wobm. the advantage of be¬ 

ing entirely harmless 

to human beings. Whatever poison is used, it should be applied to both 
foliage and fruit, inasmuch as the destruction of the former will prevent the 
latter from coming to maturity. Early planting, so that the fruit may be 
picked early, or before the destructive brood appears, is a preventive, and if 
the worms be destroyed on their first appearance on the foliage before the 
fruit begins to form, there will be much less danger to the fruit crop. 


Insects on Garden Vegetables —The most common of these are the 
caterpillars of medium-sized butterflies, the wings of which are white, with 
a few black spots; there are three distinct species, but all are similar in 
their habits. Wherever these butterflies are seen flitting about over the 
pabbage and cauliflower plants, trouble from “worms” may soon be e^- 




THE GARDEN. 


97 


pected. Safety consists in attacking them early. Some worms eat into the 
forming head, and when they have thus hidden, nothing can he done. In 
small gardens, hand-picking will answer, but where there are many cab¬ 
bages, this is not practicable. The Persian Insect Powder, the Py rethrum, 
is the best, and a safe application. There are in some localities cabbage 
worms which come from other butterflies, but they are to be treated in the 
same manner. The large green caterpillar, of the five-spotted Sphinx, 
known as the “ Tomato Worm,” is most destructive; it will soon leave no¬ 
thing but bare stems upon a tomato plant, eating the green fruit as well as 
the leaves. When the tomatoes are supported by some kind of a trellis, as 
they always should be in a garden, worms may be detected by the quantity 
of large pellets of droppings found upon the ground. Where these are seen, 
the worm should be sought for. Stems without leaves also indicate its pres¬ 
ence. When not eating, it will be found close to the stems, on their under¬ 
side, and as it is of nearly the same color, may escape notice. The 
“ worms ” are never very numerous, and hand-picking is the best way 
to deal with them. In spite of the horn at the tail-end, they can neither 
sting nor bite. Frequently one of these will be found with its body nearly 
covered with small egg-shaped white cocoons, often mistaken for eggs. 
Worms with these should not be destroyed, as they are too weak to do 
much damage, and the parasitic insect should have time to leave these 
cocoons, as they are our friends, and should be encouraged. The tomato- 
worm may sometimes be found on potatoes .—American Agriculturist. 

Hot Water on tlie Gardeu.—Insecticides are in demand. The 
farmer’s first interest is to gain an insecticide that is effective. The next 
important point is that it be sufficiently cheap in cost to permit of free use. 
Hot water some of the English gardeners accept as a cheap insecticide not 
sufficiently appreciated, and capable of more extended employment than is 
usually believed. Hot water judiciously applied has been found effective 
among American farmers for cabbage worms. In careful hands its appli¬ 
cation, after the cabbage heads begin to form, has not injured the plants, 
but has destroyed the bugs. Experiments with hot water on the aphis at 
Stoke Newington and reported in the English journals, made it appear that 
aphides perish immediately if immersed in water heated to 120 degrees 
Fahrenheit. In order to ascertain the degree of heat infested plants could 
endure in the dipping process, a number of herbaceous and soft-wooded 
plants were immersed in water heated to various degrees above 120. Fuch¬ 
sias were unharmed at 140 degrees and injured at 150 degrees. Pelargo¬ 
niums were unhurt up to 150 degrees, but the slightest rise above that figure 
killed the soft wood and young leaves. Ferns, heliotropes, petunias, be¬ 
gonias, mignonette and many other plants of soft texture were unhurt by 
being dipped in water at 140 degrees, but the slightest rise above that point 
proves detrimental. Hoses grown in pots for market were kept clean by 
dipping in water at 120 degrees without injury to the plants and every aphis 
destroyed. 

Gas Tar as a Remedy for Bugs. —A correspondent of the Chicago Tri¬ 
bune says: “ For the last five years I have not lost a cucumber or a melon 
vine or a cabbage plant. Get a barrel with a few gallons of gas tar in it; 
pour water on the tar; always have it ready when needed, and, when the 
bugs appear, give them a liberal drink of the tar water from a garden 
sprinkler or otherwise, and, if the rain washes it oft and they return, re¬ 
peat the dos®. It will also destroy the Colorado potato beetle, and frighten 






98 


THE FARM.. 


the old long potato bug worse than a threshing with a brush. Five years 
ago this summer both kinds appeared on my late potatoes, and I watered 
with the tar water. The next day all Colorados that had not been protected 
from the sprinkler were dead, and the others, their name was legion, were 
all gone, and I have never seen one on the farm since. I am aware that 
many will look upon this with indifference, because it is so simple and cheap 
a remedy. Such should always feed their own and their neighbors’ bugs, as 
they frequently do.” 

Remedy for the Green Ply. —A writer in the Deutsche Zeitung states 
that he last year had an opportunity of trying a remedy for destroying green 
fly and other insects which infest plants. It was not his own discovery, but 
he found it among other recipes in some provincial paper. The stems and 
leaves of the tomato are well boiled in water, and when the liquid is cold it 
is syringed over plants attacked by insects. It at once destroys black or 
green fly, caterpillars, etc.; and it leaves behind a peculiar odor, which pre¬ 
vents insects from coming again for a long time. The author states that he 
found this remedy more effectual than fumigating, washing, etc. Through 
neglect a house of camelias had become almost hopelessly infested with 
black lice, but two syringings with tomato plant decoction thoroughly 
cleansed them. 

To Destroy Bugs on Vines. —To destroy bugs on squash and cucum¬ 
ber vines, dissolve a tablespoonful of saltpetre in a pailful of water; put one 
pint of this around each hill, shaping the earth so that it will not spread 
much, and the thing is done. Use more saltpetre if you can afford it—it is 
good for vegetable, but death to animal life. The bugs burrow in the earth 
at night and fail to rise in the morning. It is also good to kill the “ grub ” in 
peach trees—only use twice as much, say a quart to each tree. There w r as 
not a yellow or blistered leaf on twelve or fifteen trees to which it was 
applied last season. No danger of killing any vegetable with it—a concen¬ 
trated solution applied to beans makes them grow wonderfully. 

Protecting Young Plants. —The striped bug is very destructive to 
young plants, especially of vines. It is almost impossible to get a stand of 
early cucumbers, on account of this pest. A writer in one of our exchanges 
states that a good protection is secured by cutting a sheet of cotton wadding 
into nine equal pieces, and then spliting them, making eighteen, at a cost fox- 
all of only four cents. These ai'e placed over the hills before tlie plants are 
up, the coi-ners held down wfith small stones. They are elastic and stretch 
as the plants gi-ow. The bug cannot get through them. They are also some 
protection against frost. 

A Valuable Mixt ure. —A valuable mixture to keep on hand is one of coal 
ashes, sulphur and helleboi-e. The ashes should be vei-y fine. It is best 
after passing them through the ordinary coal-ash sieve. To one pailful of 
ashes thus sifted, add a quart each of flour of sulphur and hellebore, and 
mix together. For currant worms, plant lice, cabbage fleas, slugs on pear 
trees, melon bugs, we found this so effectual that we confidently recommend 
it. It is always best to use it in the cool of the morning while the dew is 
upon the leaf. 

To Get Rid of Grubs. —The carrot ci'op is rendered useless in many 
gardens by grubs eating into the roots. This takes place in many well-man¬ 
aged gardens. The best remedy is to scatter a quantity of soot and lime 


THE GARDEN. 


59 

over the surface of the ground before forking it over for the carrots. This 
works it into the ground, and keeps the soil free from all sorts of grubs for 
the Whole season. The next best way is to sow the lime and soot between 
the rows and hoe it into the ground. 

Coal Asli Walks for the Garden —Good, sound, dry walks are a 
necessity in all garden grounds, in order that the work in them may be car¬ 
ried on with comfort during all weathers, and although there is nothing like 
good gravel for walks in pleasure grounds, it frequently happens that, from 
the difficulty of getting gravel in quantity within a reasonable distance, the 
kitchen garden walks have to be made of what is most abundant. After try¬ 
ing all sorts of matei-ials in different counties, it was found that nothing 
makes a better path than ashes. The way in which we use them is to form 
grass verges one foot wide and about one foot deep. In the bottom of the 
walk are put brickbats, stones, or other rubbish. On these a good layer of 
clinkers is spread, and broken down tolerably fine, when a good coating of 
ashes is spread evenly over the surface, and rolled down. These form one 
of the pleasantest paths on which to walk, wheel, or cart that it is possible to 
have. Weeds are not troublesome, for the material has been cleaned by 
passing through the furnace, and if a few seeds blow on to the surface and 
germinate they can be easily removed. 

Club Root in Cabbage. —M. Waronin, an authoritative microscopic 
botanist of Europe, who has given particular attention to destructive insects, 
and especially to those predatory in the cabbage, finds that the abnormal 
growth on the roots, which he denominates club root, but which is known in 
the United States as club foot, is caused by a minute fungus, to which he has 
given the name of Plasmodiophorci brassicce. Thin sections of the diseased 
portions reveal the fungus with its spores, under the higher powers of the 
microscope. As the spores are exceedingly numerous, the soil becomes in¬ 
fested with them, and communicates the trouble to plants upon the same 
soil next year. A diseased crop should not be followed by cabbage again. 
Only healthy plants should be set. An application of lime to the soil has 
proved of benefit, and from the nature of the trouble, he thinks, the use of 
sulphur Avould be useful. 

Soil for Sugar Beets. —The beet requires a deep, permeable soil, for 
its roots penetrate deeply into the ground and are abundantly supplied with 
fine fibers through which it receives its nourishment. If the soil does not 
permit the root to grow down deeply the top will be forced to grow above the 
ground, and the crown which grows out of ground is nearly worthless for 
sugar purposes. A deep, sandy loam is the best soil to produce beets rich 
in sugar. They will, however, grow on a variety of soils, and any soil which 
will plow and subsoil to the depth of twelve or fifteen inches is a good beet 
soil. Avoid all wet lands and muck bottoms as unsuitable. Beets will not 
liourish on wet lands, and what grow are not sweet. Muck bottoms produce 
large tops but small roots with little sugar in them. 

Sulphur and Tobacco —A mixture of sulphur and finely ground 
tobacco, two parts of the former to one of the latter, has been found an ex¬ 
cellent preventive of the ravages of insects on squash and other vines, as 
well as for keeping lice from cattle, dogs and poultry. It is also recom¬ 
mended for sprinkling trees and bushes that are eaten by canker worms or 
currant worms. 


too 


THE FARM. 


Cultivation of Tobacco. —To raise tobacco, select a sheltered situation, 
where the young plants can receive the full force of the sun; burn over the 
surface of the ground early in spring (new land is best), rake it well, and 
sow the seeds; have a dry, mellow, rich soil, and after a shower, when the 
plants have got leaves the size of a quarter-dollar, transplant as you would 
cabbage plants, three and one-half feet apart, and weed out carefully after¬ 
ward. Break oft' the suckers from the foot-stalks, as they appear; also the 
tops of the plants when they are well advanced, say about three feet high, 
except those designed for seed, which should be the largest and best plants. 
The ripeness of tobacco is known by small dusky spots appearing on the 
leaves. The plants should then be cut near the roots, on the morning of a 
day of sunshine, and should lie singly to wither. When sufficiently with¬ 
ered, gather them carefully together, and hang them up under cover to cure 
and prepare for market. 

Starting Plants Early. —A writer on gardening gives the following 
hints on starting tender seeds, such as tomatoes, squashes, melons, and the 
like: “ It is desirable in transplanting not to check the growth by disturbing 
the roots. A good way to avoid this is to scrape out turnips, fill them with 
good soil and plant in two or three seeds, setting them in a warm, light 
place, and keeping them moist. When the weather is suitable, place these 
out in the garden at the proper depth. The turnip will decay and the plant 
will thrive unchecked if properly cared fur. Do not use potatoes instead of 
turnips. Another method is to get squares of sod, say six inches vide, from 
good, mellow soil, turn them bottom up, and put such seeds as squash, 
melon or sweet corn, and treat them in the same way, not putting out till 
the weather is quite warm, and then protecting against bugs. For more 
delicate plants, flowers, etc., make little square paper boxes out of thin 
writing paper, or thick newspaper, merely folding them at the corners as 
you would the paper in covering a book, and tacking them with a needle 
and thread; make them about three inches square and rivo deep. Fill with 
good soil; start the seeds and put them out at the proper time, boxes and 
all, without disturbing the roots. If you fear the paper is too strong for the 
roots to penetrate, cut carefully on the bottom of the box the shape of a 
cross, and all will be well.” 

Seeds for Small Gardens. —People who grow largely for market know, 
as a part of their business, how many garden seeds to sow, but this is not 
always the case with the man or woman who has but a small garden. For 
these we give the following: Asparagus, bed of 15 square yards, 1 pint. 
Beet, row 50 feet, 2 ounces. Cabbage, bed of 8 square yards, 1 ounce. 
Carrots, drill of 120 feet, 2 ounces. Carrots, bed of 12 square yards, 2 
ounces. Celery, 4 square yards, 1 ounce. Endive, 4 square yards, 1 ounce. 
Bush beans, row 80 feet, 1 pint. Leek, 2 square yards, 1 ounce. Lettuce, 4 
square yards, 1 ounce. Onions, 9 square yards, 2 ounces. Parsley, row 80 
feet, one and a half ounces. Parsnip, drill of 200 feet, 2 ounces. Peas, 
early, row 60 feet, one and a half pints. Peas, large, late, row 80 feet, one 
and a half pints. Potatoes, row 30 feet, half peck. Radishes, 4 square 
yards, one and a half ounces. Spinach, 10 square yards, 2 ounces. Spinach, 
drill of 120 feet, 2 ounces. Turnip, 4 square yards, 1 ounce. 

Asparagus as a Lawn Plant._A friend suggests a very good idea as 
to asparagus: “ Of course the old plan of sticking the plants in close beds is 
all wrong. There are many bits of fine soil in gardens, even the so-called 


THE aARDEtf* 


ini 

pleasure grounds and hardy plant borders, where a strong clump of the 
common asparagus would he a great ornament, as well as of use. I shall 
plant a hundred or more good clumps of asparagus in our borders here, 
partly for its tender shoots in spring, partly for its spray for cutting during 
the summer and autumn months, but mainly for its feathery grace as a 
beautiful, hardy plant. In many a villa garden, even where good asparagus 
may never be seen raised in the ordinary way, a capital supply could be ob¬ 
tained by simply dotting a few plants here and there in borders, and on the 
margins of shrubberies, not only as single specimens, but as groups and 
masses—never, however, nearer to each other than four feet.” 

Training Tomatoes. —A housewife, who vouches for the success of her 
plan, makes these suggestions for tomato training: “ When the plants are 
ready for the garden, make a considerable hill of good compost. Chip ma¬ 
nure is excellent, and a quantity of chicken manure is good. After the hill 
is made, drive a long stake through it. This may be six feet high. Set the 
plant near it. The training will require attention. The plant will immedi¬ 
ately begin to sucker, or throw outside shoots, just above each leaf. These 
must be cut off, and then the plant will run up vigorously. Tie it to the 
stake, and do not be afraid to use the knife. Keep on cutting each stem 
that appears in the axil of a leaf, and keep on tying. The first bearing 
branches come directly from the body of the plant. Remember that this 
trimming must be continued as long as the plant bears. Thus trained, the 
fruit is superior in size, quantity, and flavor, besides being less liable to rot 
or drop off.” 

Bending Down Onions. —Many old truck farmers have caused surprise 
to lookers-on at their work, to see them bending over their onion tops. The 
time to do this is when some begin to show signs of flowering. The method 
is thus explained: “This operation maybe done by the hand, but time is 
saved by two persons each holding one of the ends of a pole in such a man¬ 
ner as to strike the stems an inch or two above the bulbs. This is called 
‘laying over,’ and is of great benefit to all crops of onions, as the growth of 
the stems is thereby much checked, and the whole nourishment thrown 
into the bulbs. It is an old practice in family gardens, and has never failed 
to give satisfactory results.” 

Early CucumBers and Melons. —For early melons or cucumbers many 
plant the seeds on inverted sods cut about four inches square. The sods 
are placed in a frame of any kind, and covered to the depth of half an inch 
with mellow, rich earth. The plants root firmly in these sods the same as 
they would in small flower pots, and may safely be transplanted as soon as 
the weather becomes settled and warm. For melons this is an excellent 
plan, since our seasons are scarcely long enough to ripen them before the 
cool nights of autumn, when the seeds are planted in the ground in the 
usual way. 

Benefits of Hoeing. —Any one passing along where there are gardens 
can nearly always find evidences of the benefits of a constant stirring of the 
soil. The man who cultivates continually has always a better crop than has 
the one who is satisfied with a hard surface. The benefits from a loose soil 
are, in fact, so great as what many a load of manure gives. Those who have 
flower-beds know how much bettor plants grow when the ground is stirred. 
In the growing season all the rain that falls is needed by the crops, and a 
loose soil keeps the rain which the hard ground allows to run off. 


10‘2 


THE FARM. 

New ideas in Asparagus Culture. —Gardeners generally are beginning 
to adopt the practice of giving at least one yard distance between the plants 
in making new plantations of asparagus. They have found that the roots 
run horizontally, and not directly downward, and, therefore, that it is not 
advisable to continue the old practice of digging down two or three feet for a 
narrow bed, to be filled with manure mixed with soil, on which plants are to 
be set only a foot apart. Large shoots of asparagus an inch in diameter 
cannot be had by such treatment. 

Substitute for Beau Poles. —A New England farmer says: “ In my own 
gardening I have found a most satisfactory substitute for bean poles, which 
latter are not only expensive, but a source of trouble and care. I plant a 
sunflower seed by each hill of beans, the stock answering the same purpose 
as the ordinary bean pole, besides providing an excellent feed for my poul¬ 
try. I have been using for this purpose a mammoth variety of sunflower 
seed, many of the flowers of which measured fifteen inches across the seed 
bed.” 

Potato Juice as an Insect Destroyer. —As an insect destroyer the 
juice of the potato plant is said to be of great value; the leaves and stems 
are well boiled in water, and when the liquid is cold it is sprinkled over 
plants attacked with insects, when it at once destroys caterpillars, black and 
green flies, gnats, and other enemies to vegetables, and in no way impairs 
the growth of the plants. A peculiar odor remains, and prevents insects 
from coming again for a long time. 

To Force Radishes.— Radishes may be grown in a few days by the fol¬ 
lowing method: Let some good radish seed soak in water for twenty-four 
hours, and then put them in a bag and expose to the sun. In the course of 
the day germination will commence. The seed must then be sown in a well- 
manured hot-bed, and watered from time to time in lukewarm water. By 
this treatment the radishes will, in a very short time, acquire quite a large 
bulk, and be very good to eat. 

Culture of Sugar-Beets. —The best sugar-beet, when properly grown, 
should be conical, and with a single tap-root. To grow such beets the soil 
should be deep, mellow, free from stones, and abundantly rich. A deep, 
sandy loam, with plenty of vegetable matter, may be expected to produce, 
with clean culture, a profitable crop of sugar-beets. A strong clay is not 
suitable, neither is a soil that is low and naturally wet and cold. 

Weeds on Gravel Walks. —Weeds on gravel walks maybe destroyed 
and prevented from growing again by a copious dressing of the cheapest 
salt. This is a better method than hand-pulling, which disturbs the gravel 
and renders constant raking and rolling necessary. One application early in 
the season, and others as may be needed; while the weeds are small, will 
keep the walks clean and bright. 

Water Necessary to Cauliflower —A gentleman in Colorado informs 
us that by irrigation he grew cauliflower-heads four feet three inches in cir¬ 
cumference. Cauliflower is fond of water, and we have seen large planta¬ 
tions on the continent of Europe that were regularly watered every evening 
except during rainy weather. 


ORCHARD AND VINEYARD 




Pruning—Making tlie Cut. —In pruning branches from trees with the 
knife, the method of making the cut is a matter of some importance. We 
have had some illustrations made, 
showing several ways, often fol¬ 
lowed, which are wrong, and the 
one which is right; a shows the 
right method of making the cut, at 
an angleof about forty-five degrees, 
and having the bud at the back in 
the best position for throwing new 
bark and wood quickly over the 
wound; b shows too much of the 
wood cut away, leaving the bud ex¬ 
posed and liable to die by drying or 
freezing; c, this cut was started 
right, but, owing to a dull knife or 
want of firmness in the hand, the 
cut was made too sloping. This 
will not heal over so quickly as the cut at a; d, e, and / are all wrong; the 
wood above the bud dying will cause knots and perhaps decay. Crooked 
limbs will also result from these way3 of cutting. 

Pruning Deciduous Trees. —As a general rule, the less shade trees are 

pruned the better. Nature will 
form a better top and a more har¬ 
monious tree in all its parts than 
art. Severe pruning is no longer 
practiced, even in fruit orchards, 
by our best horticulturists. The 
custom that formerly prevailed of 
pruning evergreens and other 
trees, so as to make top-shaped, 
ovate, and other fantastic tops, is 
no longer regarded as good taste. 
If you want a tree with a low- 
spreading top, plant one that grows 
that way. If you want an ovate or 
pyramidal top, plant a tree that will 
make such a top, but do not at¬ 
tempt to force trees to assume dif¬ 
ferent forms from those which nature gives them. Each tree treated in this 
way is a standing lie, and proclaims to every passer-by the folly of its owner. 

The true idea is to make each species assume, as nearly as possible, the 
typical form of that species. To do this, some pruning is sometimes neces¬ 
sary. If the trees are not crowded—if each one has room enough for the air 










































io4 


Fee farm. 


and sunlight to have free access to it on all'sides, it will round out and de¬ 
velop its full proportions, and if it does not actually attain it, will approxi¬ 
mate its typical form. Where the lower limbs are in the way, of course they 
must be sacrificed; but where they are not, leave them, and you will have a 
finer and more thrifty tree. If a limb, as is often the case w’itli the elm in 
our dry soil, extends beyond the rest, absorbing the strength and destroying 
the symmetry of the tree, it should be cut back while yet small. 

The soft maple often throws out limbs that have no firm attachments to 
the body, and they will sooner or later split off; these should be removed 
while small. The idea of cutting back the top of a soft maple, or any other 
tree, to prevent it from becoming top heavy, is fallacious; it relieves for tho 
time, but makes it worse afterward. If a soft maple, as some of them will 
do, breaks bodily, and continues to do so, it is better to remove it and plant 
another in its place. Severe pruning lowers the vitality of any ordinary tree, 
making it less able to bear the drouth and heat of summer and the cold of 
winter, and leaving it an easy prey to borers and other noxious insects. 

As a strong man is able to resist disease, so a vigorous tree is able to re¬ 
sist the attacks of its enemies, w’liile a feeble one succumbs. 

So far as possible all limbs should be removed while small. It is rarely 
necessary to cut a large limb from a tree that has been properly eared for. 

Tlit* Best Time to Prune Fruit Trees— -The correct principles which 
underlie the pruning of fruit trees are probably as imperfectly understood 
as any other point in fruit-growing. Most people prune in the spring, some 
through the winter, others in the summer. Now, after carefully observing 
the effects of pruning done at different seasons, I have come to the conclu¬ 
sion that the best time to prune is in early summer, after the first rush of 
sap is past, and before the trees have made much growth of new u r ood. 

When trees are pruned in winter, a considerable time must elapse before 
the wounds made begin to heal over. During this time the combined action 
of the frost and sun are injurious to the newly-cut and exposed u r ood and 
bark, and it will take a longer time to heal over than if the wound was made 
at the time u’hen the tree was beginning to make new growth. 

When ti'ees are pruned in early spring, the sap is then in a thin, watery 
state; it oozes out of the cut, causing premature decay and permanent in¬ 
jury to the tree. 

When trees are pruned in early summer, after the rush of thin, watery 
sap is past and the tree has fairly commenced to make a new r growth, the 
wounds will commence at once to heal over. The exposed u r ood will remain 
sound for a longer period than if cut in early spring. 

Another very important point in early summer pruning is, it does not 
check the grow’th of the tree, as when it is done later in the season. 

Some advocate pruning in July and August, but I would only prune then 
in cases w’here the tree was making too much wood growth, which I wanted 
to check and throw’ the tree into a bearing state. 

Another very important point in pruning, and yet one which is very much 
neglected, is to cover the cuts with some substance to protect them from the 
influence of the weather. Common grafting v’ax, or a mixture of clay and 
cow manure, is beneficial; but perhaps the best thing, when it can be got 
pure and good, is gum shellac dissolved in alcohol to the consistency of 
paint. A protection of this kind is always beneficial to newly-pruned trees; 
it neutralizes to a great extent the injurious effects arising from pruning 
trees at an improper season. 


OTt CHARD AND VINEYARD. 


105 


Pruning Versus Mutilation. —There is, perhaps, no one item in hor¬ 
ticulture about which so little is really understood as the principle which 
should govern in the pruning away of limbs and branches from trees. The 
following illustration will serve, perhaps, better than a long homily, to 
show how we would prune a tree and keep it in condition from year to year, 
healthy and productive. Fig. 1 exhibits a tree which has had little or no 
pruning; its top branches have become rather crowded, and some seasons 
the fruit is not well colored. We take our long stepladder and a pair of good, 
strong pruning shears, set our ladder just outside, underneath the limbs, 
and with our sharp shears cut away the small spray and limbs that cross one 
another and crowd the extremities, so as to prevent the sun’s rays penetrat¬ 
ing to the center of the tree. The dark, short marks indicate some of the 
cuts that we should make in pruning the tree. Fig. 2, shown on next page, 
exhibits the tree as it is often found after the mutilator, not pruner, has 
operated upon it. Vandals roam 
the country every spring claim¬ 
ing to know how to prune trees. 

We hope what we have here said 
and illustrated may save at least 
one good orchard from this sys¬ 
tem of murderous pruning. 

Pruning for Fruit. — By 

arresting or removing the little 
faults of his children as soon as 
they are shown, the wise father 
prevents their attaining such in¬ 
veteracy as will not submit to 
correction, but burst out imme¬ 
diately with fresh misdeeds. So 
with orchard trees. It is a great 
mistake to let growth run on 
without restraint for two or three 
years, and to suppose that a 
pruning then will set all to rights. 

The fundamental rule of the art 
is to take away all young shoots 
that are not fitted to make per¬ 
manent bearing branches. Re¬ 
move these, the sooner the better, but remove no others. Cut out and sup¬ 
press all wild shoots that issue below the graft, and whose growth would 
rob or smother it. Cut out all shoots in the interior of the trees that will not 
have light enough in summer for the leaves of any fruit buds that might form 
on them, and which could, therefore, not mature into fruitage. Thin the new 
growth all over top so that no shoot will shade another or be shaded; those 
that are left being such as extend the main bearing branches, which gardeners 
call “ leaders.” Often a crowding branch can be propped or braced out into 
open light, and so two branches be relieved with little or no pruning of either, 
with a gain of large fruit-producing area. One other case must be noted: 
that of a tree exhausted so much as to be covered with fruit buds and mak¬ 
ing no new shoots. A tree in health should make new shoots every year all 
over the top, at least eight inches long. If it does less, the soil is poor, 
or the roots are robbed or dried, or the stem is injured and cannot carry the 





106 


THE HARM. 


aap or the wood of the top has become unsound. The thing to he done then 
is to cut hack the top, reducing it largely, to give the exhausted system less 
to do and more chance to recover. The vexed question of even and odd 
years, or fruitful and barren ones in alternation, which is so important to 
growers of Baldwins, Greenings, and'some other winter sorts is solved most 
easily by a resolute thinning in the winter preceding the fruitful years, so as 
to reduce the bearing, and increase the wood and bud forming for the next 
year. 



Pruning Peacli Trees. —A fruit tree overloaded with fruit is very 
unsatisfactory to its owner. The fruit itself is of no more value than halt 
the quantity of a better size. Then, too, the tree is often injured, so much 

so as to cause it to lose a 
year or two recovering. It 
is better to be satisfied with 
a small quantity of fruit, 
and this judicious pruning 
brings about. The Prairie, 
Farmer advocates the fol¬ 
lowing system of pruning 
peach trees: “ The main 
branches of a young tree 
should be, early in spring, 
cut back to eighteen inches, 
being careful to leave on 
them any sub-branches 
near their base. The next 
spring the resulting, or 
next crop of branches, 
should be cut back in about 
the same way, and sub¬ 
branches half of them cut 
clear away, leaving every 
other one, and those not cut 
away cut back Qne-third or 
one-lialf. The summer after 
this the trees should give a 
splendid crop of fine fruit 
pruning.—fig. 2. that will need no thinning. 

The after cutting back and 
pruning should be after the same general plan, thinning out and cutting back 
the upper and outer branches, but never thinning out the small branches 
near the base of the large branches, except as above. As the trees grow 
older it will be necessary to cut back and thin out more, year by year, and, 
eventually, it will be necessary to cut back half the main branches near 
their base at some point just above where a thrifty young twig is growing, 
so as to form a vigorous head.” 


Necessary Precautions After Pruning. —After pruning the orchard, 

care should be taken to clean up and burn all the brush before the embryo 
insects harboring in it have time to mature. The loose bark should also be 
scraped off and burned, and every cluster of the eggs of the tent caterpillar 
be removed betimes and cast into the fire. Attention to these matters will 
save a great deal of vexation and loss. 


107 


ORCHARD AND VINEYARD. 

Grafting Apple Trees—Apple trees maybe grafted in spring anytime 
after severe.cold weather is past, until the leaves are fully formed. There 

are many different methods of grafting 

in vogue among nurserymen and or- 
chardists, but for large trees in the or- 
chaid, what is called cleft grafting is 
the one usually practiced. In per¬ 
forming the operation, the main stem, 
if not more than an inch or two in di¬ 
ameter, or a branch, or any number of 
them on a large tree, is sawed off, and 
the portion remaining is split down¬ 
ward two inches or more with a large 
knife or chisel, being careful not to 
bruise or break the bark. Then a cion 
from a tree -which we desire to propa¬ 
gate is cut, with two or three buds 
upon it, as shown in Fig. 1, the lower 
end being cut on each side, forming a 
long, slender wedge. The cleft in the 
stock may be held open with a small 
hard wood or,iron w^edge, driven in 
the center. When the cions are pre¬ 
pared, insert one on each side of the 
cleft, as is shown in Fig. 2, being care¬ 
ful to have the outside of the wood of 
both cion and stock exactly even, and 
then withdraw the wedge, and the 
stock will grasp and hold the cions 
firmly in place. The end of the stock 
and the side -clefts should then be 
carefully covered with grafting wax, 
for the purpose of excluding air and 
water. To prevent the grafting wax 
sticking to the fingers of the operator, 
a little piece of tallow or other kind of 
grease may be applied to the hand and 
fingers each time, before taking hold 
of the wax. 

When cions are to be taken from 
trees in the same orchard or neighbor¬ 
hood, they may be cut and inserted 
the same day, even if somewhat ad¬ 
vanced in growth of buds; but, as a 
rule, the cions should be taken from 
the trees before the buds begin to 
swell in spring, and then put in a cool 
cellar and rolled in damp moss cloth, 
or buried in earth, where their growth 
will be retarded. Grafting trees is a very simple operation, and almost any 
*>oy who can whittle a stick can readily learn how to perform it successfully. 
Make a clean smooth cleft in the stock, and use a sharp knife in preparing 
the cion, and then see that the two join as we have directed, and there is lit- 



fig. 2. 

































103 EA R U. 

tie danger of failure if tlie cions are healthy and in proper condition. Strong, 
firm one-year-old wood should be used for this purpose; that which is about 
one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch in diameter is the most suitable. 

The apple, pear, plum, and cherry may be grafted in the manner we hai e 
described, and by almost any one who will try. 

Grafting Wax _There are a great many recipes given for making 

grafting wax, but the following is, in our opinion, the best: To four pounds 
of resin and one of beeswax add one pint of linseed oil; put in an iion pot, 
heat slowly, and mix well. Pour into cold water, and pull by hand unti it 
assumes a light color; work into sticks, and put into a cool place until 
wanted. In using, oil the hands, w r ork the wax until soft, and press it tightly 
around the graft and over the cracks. If the day be warm, it is better to oc¬ 
casionally moisten the hand** 
w r ith water. 

Grafting tlie W i 1 cl 
Cherry. — The common 
black cherry regarded as 
“wild” can be grafted with 
other and best varieties as 
easily as cherries usually 
are. Many of these trees, 
which produce the poorest 
kind of fruit, can all be top 
grafted, and may be made 
to yield an abundance of ex¬ 
cellent fruit. Only healthy 
trees should be selected for 
grafting, and the cions 
should be in the best condi¬ 
tion. 

Transplanting Large 

Trees. —Many and various 
are the reasons for trans¬ 
planting large trees. Many 
persons desire to remove 
from the forest to their own 
grounds trees of twenty or 
more feet in height for farming, new ornamenting, screens, or shade. Trees 
of more than four inches in diameter should be removed with a ball of earth 
attached. This operation is easily and safely performed in two different 
ways, as the accompanying figures indicate. When the trees are to be re¬ 
moved long distances, the plan used in Fig. 1 should be adopted. First dig 
around and loosen the tree, care being taken not to injure the roots by dig¬ 
ging too near the tree. Place the connecting pieces (M) of the standards 
(R It) against the tree, to which fasten by ropes winding cloths or matting 
about the tree, to prevent breaking the bark. One horse attached to the 
rope (B) will easily raise the tree and ball of earth and place it upon the 
^stone boat or drag (P), upon which it may be transplanted long distances 
without injury. It may be removed from this vehicle to the hole prepared 
for its reception by the same process. 

Another quite common method is to use the rear wheel and axle of a 





TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES.—FIG. 1. 

























ORCHARD AND VINEYARD. 109 


farm wagon. Firmly secure on top of the center of axle a pole (S) twelve 
feet in length, the short end projecting from the axle two feet, to which is 
secured a short chain with hooks. Loosen the tree as before described; 
wind about the tree, close to the ground, matting or old carpet, pass around 
a small chain a number of times, into which catch in the hook, and by low¬ 
ering the lever (8) to the ground the tree will assume the position shown in 
big. 2. The heavy ball ot earth keeps the tree in an upright position, and 
one man holding the lever, and the other leading the horse, the tree is car- 
lied to the place foi its reception, and there deposited by raising the lever. 


Care of Trees After Transplanting —Newly transplanted trees that 
are not starting properly should receive attention. The first suggestion is 
always to pour water on the surface. But little, if any, of this moisture 
ever reaches the roots, where it could be beneficial. Experience of late 
years has taught our tree planters that when the soil is firmly pressed, so 
as to come into immediate 
contact with all the roots, 
and of course stop all air 
passages among them, but 
little water after planting is 
needed. During an exces¬ 
sively dry spell, however, 
several deep holes may be 
made in the soil by means 
of an iron bar, and water 
poured in several times; 
but in ordinary seasons a 
liberal mulch over the sur¬ 
face will answer. The best 
restorative for a weakly tree 
after transplanting is to 
shade the bark, and this 
may be done by wrapping 
the body loosely with news¬ 
papers, allowing them to 
extend even to the main 
branches, if large. Moisture over the tops is quite as helpful as at the roots, 
so that a thorough syringing among the branches every evening until active 
growdh sets in will answer an excellent purpose. 



TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES.—FIG. 2. 


Points on Pear Culture. —The cultivation, until the trees have come 
into their second or third year of bearing, may consist in growling corn the 
first year, as it affords considerable protection to the young trees from the 
heat of the first summer. After this some hoed crop, like potatoes, peas 
or beans, may be grown; and it should be fertilized with well-rotted stable 
manure and thoroughly cultivated. This keeps the trees supplied with 
food and the soil loose and friable. Hot, violent manures should never be 
applied to an orchard, and especially to one of pears. Use an ordinary one- 
horse cultivator, and a good one-horse plow. A good workman will go dee}) 
enough with such a plow, and not injure the roots as he would with a large 
one. By all means be sure of the efficiency and carefulness of a man before 
admitting him into the orchard with a horse and cultivator or plow. The 
damage a poor man did in one of our orchards in less than half a day would 
not have been covered by two or three months of his wages, A five-year- 
















110 


THE FARM. 


old pear tree in vigorous health is worth fully $10, and when a dozen such 
are injured the aggregate loss is quite an item. The horse should be a 
careful one, accustomed to such work. 

Owing to other pressing duties, it occasionally happens that a heavy 
growth of fall grass is permitted in the orchard, after the vegetable crops do 
not longer need cultivation. It should not remain all winter, especially 
around the trees, as it affords snug retreats for rabbits, field mice, etc., 
which too frequently gnaw the bark of the young trees, sometimes com¬ 
pletely girdling them, and causing death. To prevent this, in the late fall, 
with a hoe or strong iron rake, remove the grass from around each tree for 
two or three feet, and to make a further protection, ridge up around the 
trees with the plow, this ridge can be easily plowed or cultivated down in 
the spring to give a level surface to the orchard. 

Planting hoed and well-manured crops between the trees supplies them 
with all the matter needed during the first few years. When the trees get 
too large to make it either desirable or profitable to grow such crops, ma¬ 
nure in some fqrm must be specially applied to make up the deficiency. 
Bone-dust makes a valuable dressing, as does w r ell-rotted stable manure, 
which, no doubt, is the most easily obtainable on the farm. There is no¬ 
thing which equals wood-ashes, and we attribute much of our success in 
raising heavy crops and splendid specimens of pears to the liberal use of 
this fertilizer. Not only did we use all that we could save on the place, but 
bought liberally at good prices. If enough cannot be secured to put over 
the whole surface spread the ashes around each tree. The best time to ap¬ 
ply the manure is in late fall or early spring, after the plowing and before 
the harrowing. If there is an undue growth of wood and foliage diminish 
the supply of manure; and it is sometimes well to put the land down to 
clover (never to timothy, wheat, rye or other uncultivated grain), and let it 
remain one or two years in sod. It can then be plowed and planted with 
corn to break the sod, and the ground either used for vegetables or kept fal¬ 
low —Ag r iculturist. 

Waste Bones for Trees and Vines. —The bones of fish, fowls, and the 
large and small pieces of bones which are purchased with beefsteak and 
mutton, constitute the very best food for fruit trees and grape vines, if the 
fragments are only placed where the roots can lay hold of them. Instead of 
allowing pieces of bones to be cast into the backyard, as food for stray dogs 
and cats, domestics should be directed to deposit everything of the sort in a 
small tub provided with a cover. As soon as a few pounds have accumu¬ 
lated, take the tub to some grape vine or fruit tree, dig a hole three or more 
feet long, a foot or two wide, and not less than a foot deep, into which the 
bones are dumped, spread over the bottom of the excavation, and covered 
with the soil. The more the fragments can be spread around, the better, 
but they should be buried so deep that a plow or spade will not reach them. 
The roots of growing vines or fruit trees will soon find the valuable mine of 
rich fertility, and will feed on the elements that will greatly promote the 
growth of healthy wood, and the development of fair and luscious fruit. 

Many horticulturists and farmers purchase bone-dust costing not less than 
two cents a pound, simply to enrich the soil aroimd and beneath their trees 
and vines. Fragments of bones are just as valuable as ground bone, al¬ 
though their elements of fertility will not be found available in so short a 
time as if the large pieces were reduced to atoms. Nevertheless, if large 
bones be buried three or four feet from a grape vine, the countless numbers 


ORCHARD AND VINEYARD. 


Ill 


of mouths at the ends of roots will soon dissolve, take up, and appropriate 
every particle. When cast out of the kitchen door, bones are a nuisance; 
whereas, if properly buried, they become a source of valuable fertility. Let 
every person who owns a grape vine or fruit tree save all the bones that pass 
through the kitchen, and bury them where they will be turned to some 
profit. 

Orchard. Management— In three years, says a writer, I improved the 
production of my fruit trees from fifteen to two hundred bushels, by treat¬ 
ing them in the following manner: I first reduced the top one-fourth, then 
in the fall I plowed the soil as well as I could, it being quite rocky, and 
turned a short furrow toward the tree. As I worked from them I let the 
plow fall a little lower, and when between the trees I allowed the plow to 
run deep, so that the water would settle away from them in the spring. I 
hauled a fair quantity of coarse manure, pulverized it well, and marked out 
the hills, measuring each hill. I planted corn and beans, and harvested a 
nice crop of corn, beans, and pumpkins. The following spring I repeated 
the same form of cultivation, and harvested the second crop of corn, beans, 
and pumpkins, which paid me to satisfaction. My trees began to grow very 
fast; and that fall I harvested seventy bushels of very good apples. The 
following spring I manured for the third time, planted it to potatoes, which 
grew very large, but rotted very badly. I made up the loss, however, by 
harvesting 200 bushels of large and natural fruit. I changed the production 
of a yellow bellflower tree from three-fourths of a bushel to seven bushels, 
and sold them for $1.25 per barrel, which I think a very good return for my 
labor. From my experience I am of the opinion that most trees have too 
much top for the amount of roots and a deficiency of nourishment for pro¬ 
ducing a developed fruit. I like fall or winter pruning. Always cover the 
cut with grafting wax or a thick paint. After removing the limbs by thin¬ 
ning out the center of the tree, it has a tendency to make it grow broad. 
Too many varieties are bad, and hardy stock is all that is needed. 

Tlie Roots of Fruit Trees. —While fruit growers are aware now that the 
roots of trees and plants extend to a great distance, still it is difficult to 
break away from the old habit of manuring about the trunks, trusting that 
somehow or other the fertilizer will be appropriated, and fearing that if 
spread broadcast it may some way become lost. It will be found difficult 
to place manure in an orchard or vineyard where the plants will not reach 
it, and if properly spread it will not be lost. Should it sink into the subsoil 
the roots will follow it and bring it back by the ear, as a teacher would a 
truant school-boy. We have observed the roots of apple trees in sand pits 
extending downwards ten feet. We recently followed the roots of an old 
grape vine twenty feet under the location of a defunct building. When we 
stopped digging, the roots were as large as a little finger, were four feet be¬ 
neath the surface, and probably extended ten feet farther. A pile ot ma¬ 
nure about the base of this vine would have done but little good. Know¬ 
ing the extent and habit of root growth, it is apparent that cultivation close 
about the trunks of the trees or vines is not necessary; and is often produc¬ 
tive of more harm than good in marring and breaking, besides tempting pro¬ 
fanity on the part of the plowman. 

How to Fertilize Fruit Trees. —Here and there on all farms and in 
most fruit gardens will be seen an occasional tree or grape vine which seems 
to lack vigor—does not grow well, and yet seems to have no particular dis- 


112 


THE FA It M. 

ease. The probabilities are that the tree is dying of starvation and needs a 
liberal supply of food. When you give it this ration do not pile a load of 
manure around the trunk of the tree or the body of a grape vine. That is 
just the place where it will do the least good. Nearest the trunk of the tree 
the roots are all large; the fibrous roots—the feeders—are farther off, near 
the ends of the roots. These only can take up the nutriment. It is always 
safe to assume that the roots extend as far from the trunk in every direction 
as do the limbs of the trees, and to properly fertilize, spread the manure all 
over that area. Then fork it in, and you have done a good work and done it 
well. If some disease has begun its work on the tree, you will put the tree 
in a healthy, vigorous condition, the better enabling it to successfully con¬ 
tend against its enemies. We have seen numerous old pear and apple trees, 
bearing poor and gnarled fruit, winch the owners consider of no value, 
which such treatment as we have outlined above would restore to their 
original usefulness. 

A Belgian Fruit Gatherer. —We illustrate a novel little invention for 
gathering fruit as used by the Belgians. It is made as follows: Take a 
pole ten or twelve feet long, and on top of this attach a thin disk, as shown 
by the illustration, about six inches in diameter, set with wooden teeth, just 
like the teeth of a hayrake. Carefully placing this under a pear so that the 

pear rests on the disk, and giving a slight 
twist, it will at once detach and bring down the 
fruit without marring or injuring it in anyway. 

How to Renew an Orchard. _We would 

plow the orchard in the fall, and then either 
cross-plow it in the spring or cultivate it thor¬ 
oughly, according to its condition. Thorough 
working the ground will help the orchard and 
also the crop. It should be plowed shallow, 
especially under the trees, and care should be 
taken not to break off or mutilate the roots. 
Much damage is done to orchards by careless plowing. Corn is the best 
hoed crop for an orchard, and beans the next best. Potatoes should never 
be planted in an orchard, as they exhaust the potash from the soil, and this 
is just what the apple trees require. Barley, or spring rye, is the best 
adapted to be sown for the seeding. Under the apple trees the grain 
should be thinly scattered, for much seed would only be wasted on 
account of the shade, but the grass seed should be put on thickly. The least 
exhaustive crop should always be grown in an orchard, or else the trees will 
be robbed of needed sustenance; hence it is always best to pasture the 
ground rather than mow it: nothing will run an orchard down so fast as to 
make it a meadow, as it is a double robbery. The ground may be plowed in 
the spring, but for an orchard, we would prefer turning it over in the early 
autumn, in order that the trees may have the full benefit of the decayed sod 
and the more mellow soil. 

Errors in Fruit Tree Cnitnre.-Deep planting is one error-to plant 
a tree rather shallower than it formerly stood is really the right way, while 
many plant a tree as they would a post. Boots are of two kinds—the young 
and tender rootlets, composed entirely of cells, the feeders of the ‘trees, 
always found near the surface getting air and moisture; and roots of over 
one year old, which serve only as supporters of the trees, and as conductors 



BELGIAN FRUIT GATHERER. 
































113 


ORCHARD AND VINEYARD . 

of ita food. Hence the injury that ensues when the delicate rootlets are so 
deeply buried in earth. Placing fresh or green manure in contact with the 
young roots is another great error; the place to put manure is on the sur¬ 
face, wheie the elements disintegrate, dissolve, and carry it downward. 
Numerous forms of fungi are generated and reproduced by the application 
ol such manures directly to the roots, and they immediately attack the tree. 
It is very well to eniich the soil at transplanting the tree, but the manure, if 
it be in contact with or very near the roots, should be thoroughly decom¬ 
posed. 

Fruit. Tree Culture —A writer in the Western Agriculturist gives 
these rules, which are of wide application: 1. Instead of “ trimming up ” 
trees according to the old fashion, to make them long-legged and long- 
armed, trim them down, so as to make them even, snug and symmetrical. 
2. Instead of manuring heavily in a small circle at the foot of the tree, spread 
the manure, if needed at all, broadcast over the whole surface. 3. Instead 
of spading a small circle about the stem, cultivate the whole surface broad¬ 
cast. 4. Prefer a well pulverized, clean surface in an orchard, with a 
moderately rich soil, to heavy manuring and a surface covered with a hard 
crust and weeds and grass. 5. Remember that it is better to set out ten trees 
with all the necessary care to make them live and flourish, than to set out a 
hundred trees, and have them all die from carelessness. 6. Remember that 
tobacco is a poison, and will kill insects rapidly if properly applied to them, 
and is one of the best drugs for freeing fruit trees rapidly of small vermin. 

Protection of Trees. —Mr. A. M. Daniels, in an address before the 
Chenango County Farmers’ Club, in relation to the protection of trees, stated 
as the result of his observation that, “ when the fruit is stimulated to rapid 
growth by an abundance of juices in the tree, it is affected by the hot sun 
and drying Avind. In the disease called the frozen sap blight, so disastrous 
to young orchards Avhen it affects the trunk, the tree dies. This occurs more 
frequently after severe Avinters, by inactive or arrested circulation. Young 
orchards should be protected from the hot sun or cold of winter by the use 
of straw, cloth, or board boxes. The scorching rays of the sun should never 
be allowed to come on the body of a tree, and Nature by the foliage provides 
against it. No fruit tree can stand freezing and tlmving in spring without 
being injured by it. The great object to be attained in raising a young 
orchard is ripened and mature groAvth. When that is attained we are on the 
road to success. Late groAvth should not be stimulated.” 

Fruit Cellars. —Fruit cellars need careful oversight; for the late sorts 
to come to proper perfection, and to keep well, they must be in a tempera¬ 
ture as Ioav as may be without freezing; it must not be forgotten that fruit in 
ripening gives off heat, and this must be regulated by the admission of cold 
air from Avithout. In ripening, a considerable amount of carbonic acid is 
given off, which would be of use in retarding the ripening, but very danger¬ 
ous if allowed to accumulate in the cellar of a dwelling, hence ventilation by 
means of a chimney, or in some other manner, is a matter that must be 
attended to. 

Thinning Fruit. —An orchardist who makes his trees bear a moderate 
crop every year, of larger and finer fruit than when crowded, gives the fol- 
loAving directions for doing the work: A light ladder is used to give ready 
access to any part of the tree. The branch is held in the left hand, while 


114 


THE FAllM. 


with sheep shears in the right, every hunch of apples is cut off, leaving a part 
of the stem of each fruit. This is (lone as soon as the blossoms have fallen, 
and before the young fruit has attained any size. When this branch is en¬ 
tirely cleaned, the next branch is skipped, and the third cleaned of the fruit 
like the first, and so on until every alternate branch is divested of its fruit. 
This work is not done on the small limbs here and there over the tree, but 
on main branches, and equally on both sides of the tree. Of medium-sized 
trees, an active man will go over fifteen or twenty in a day 

Destroying the Plum Cureulio. —A great deal of useless advice has 
been given out concerning easy methods of destroying the plum and peach 
cureulio. In most parts of the country it is impossible to raise plums unless 
one exercises a daily warfare against the insects. Persons who have two or 
three plum trees about the yard should succeed in raising fruit enough for 
their own use, but this they are seldom able to accomplish. The less trees 
one has, the greater will be the proportionate number of insects to attack 
them. 

Such methods as burning coal tar under the trees, hanging cobs, satu¬ 
rated with molasses, among the limbs, are usually of no avail in saving a 
crop of plums or peaches. The only sure method is persistent catching. 
The curculios spend their nights near the base of the tree, under chips and 
barks. Early in the morning they ascend the trees, to lay their eggs in the 
young fruit. 

There are two modes of catching them. The one devised by Mr. Ransom, 
of Benton Harbor, Mich., is to nicely smooth the earth about the base of the 
trees, and to lay a few small blocks of wood or chips on the surface. The 
beetles crawl under these for shelter, and can be taken very early in the 
morning before they ascend the trees. The chips should be examined as 
soon as one can see in the morning. This is the method most practiced in 
the extensive peach belt of Michigan. 

The other method is to spread a large sheet under the tree, and jar the 
beetles off-on to it by means of one or two quick blows with a long-handled 
mallet or bumper. Each of the large branches should be struck, and the 
mallet should be wound with cloth to prevent injury to the trees. This 
practice should be followed early in the morning also, as when the days get 
warm the beetles are too lively to be caught. Many of the best peach and 
plum growers practice both these methods. In the case of a few trees about 
a yard both should be used, and there will be little doubt as to a good 
reward in fruit. The practice should be followed up every morning for a 
couple of weeks after the blossoms fall, and at wider intervals until the in¬ 
sects disappear. A sheet may be stretched over a large wooden frame for 
convenience in handling. 

A- Suggestion to Growers of Plums.—If. you want a good crop of 
plums or damsons, as soon as your trees are out of blossom, and the fruit 
formed, keep a hen with a brood of young chickens tied beneath the tree, 
and give her a range as wide as the boughs of the tree, and she and her 
brood will destroy every cureulio, and reward your care and forethought 
with a crop of luscious plums. Keep the chickens there until the fruit be 
half or more than half grown. 

Manure for Fruit Trees._It is best to abstain from the use of stimu¬ 
lating animal manures, unless decomposed, and previously composted with 
mellow soil. Nothing is better than wood ashes to induce a sound, healthy 


ORCHARD AND VINEYARD. 


115 


growth and good yield. The scrapings of the wood pile mixed with ashes, 
decayed leaves, and road washings, are all of value as manures. Salt 
sprinkled around the trees, or applied in the form of brine, is frequently 
beneficial, especially where the fruit falls before ripening. 

Maxims for Fruit Growers. —All fruit trees like a rather dry, rich soil. 
On a cold clayey bottom diseases are usually frequent. Do not plant deep; 
cut otf tap roots, and encourage surface fibres. Surface manuring is the 
best mode of doing this after the tree is planted. Do not allow anything to 
grow vigorously around your trees the first year of planting, nor allow the 
soil to become hard or dry. 

Insects Injurious to Fruit. Trees— To keep the insects from the trees 
requires the closest observance, and, soon as found, destruction must com¬ 
mence. Their habits should be learned as much as possible. When the in¬ 
sects are in the winged state is the time they lay their eggs. They multiply 
with astonishing rapidity, one insect often hatching thousands in a single 
season. June is the time most of the insects lay their eggs, and at that time 
bonfires should be built at night, when the insects will fly into them and be 
destroyed; or, if you have only a few trees in the garden, get some bottles 
with wide mouths, and fill half full with a mixture of water, molasses, and 
vinegar, and tie up in the trees; empty in a week, and fill again. And at 
that time (June) the bark should be Avashed Avith soft soap, the trunk and 
the limbs as far as can be reached; also sprinkle a handful of coarse salt 
around the roots of the tree—we have found it valuable. Put coal ashes, 
about a peck, around the base of each tree, as it not only drives aAvay the 
grubs, but acts as a fertilizer. The best Avay to kill insects on the tree is to 
dust air-slaked lime over it when the deAv is on the tree; or, steep tobacco 
stems in boiling water, and, when cool, syringe the tree. 

Birds are of great value in destroying insects, and they should have the 
best of care given them, to encourage their building and living on the place, 
especially our common sparrow (not the English sparroAv), Avrens, bluebirds, 
robins, quails, etc. Don’t allow them to be frightened or shot at, and they 
will pay well. 

Toads and bats destroy a great many insects in the spring. As the green 
fruit drops it should be gathered up and fed to the hogs, for it contains a 
worm Avhich burroAvs in the ground- Where small quantities of trees are 
grown, as in the garden, it is a good plan to fence in the trees, and let the 
hogs or chickens eat the green, Avormy fruit as it falls; Ave have knoAvn plum 
trees to bear enormous and paying crops when treated in this Avay. 

Pear Blight and. Peach Yellows. —Pear blight and peach yellows are 
subjects of prolific and dissenting discussion at every horticultural meeting. 
Mr. SattertliAvait, in a report on the diseases of fruit trees to the Pennsyl¬ 
vania State Horticultural Society, points out the great difference betAveen the 
tAvo diseases; namely, that Avhile the yelloAvs is extremely contagious, no one 
need fear to plant a pear tree where a blighted one has been removed. He 
stated that he had thousands of trees, vigorous and entirely healthy, that 
Avere planted beside the stumps of trees killed by the pear blight, and not 
one was ever affected. He regards it as proved to a certainty that pear 
blight is an entirely different disease in its nature from the peach yelloAvs, 
and he mentioned, as additional proof, that it is a usual occurrence for pear 
trees to be locally affected, or in a single branch, Avithout the disease spread¬ 
ing, and the tree entirely recovering its health and vigor, 


116 


THE FARM. 


Mr. Satterthwait reported favorably of the Kieffer pear, about which opin¬ 
ions are so variable With him it has proven not only wonderfully produc¬ 
tive, but handsome in appearance and gaining high prices in market. He 
believes the quality of this much-disputed pear depends largely on properly 
ripening the fruit. His plan consists in packing the pears in wooden boxes, 
containing about one bushel each, and placing them in a cool, dry cellai, one 
on top of the other. In this connection it may be well to state that C. M. 
Hovey, of Boston, is credited* with saying that the Kieffer is the least satis¬ 
factory of all his eight hundred varieties of the pear—another indication that 
the Kieffer gives different results in different localities under varying circum¬ 
stances. 

Tomato Leaves a Remedy for tlie Cureulio.—“ I planted a peach or¬ 
chard,” writes M. Story, of the Society of Horticulture of France, “ and the 
trees grew well and strongly. They just commenced to bud when they were 
invaded by the cureulio (pulyon), w’hich insects were followed, as frequently 
happens, by ants. Having cut some tomatoes, the idea occurred to me that, 
by placing some of the leaves around the trunk and branches of the peach 
trees, I might preserve them from the rays of the sun, which are very power¬ 
ful. My surprise was great, upon the following day, to find the trees entire¬ 
ly free from their enemies, not one remaining, except here and there where 
a curled leaf prevented the tomato from exercising its influence. These 
leaves I carefully unrolled, placing upon them fresh ones from the tomato 
'sine, with the result of banishing the last insect and enabling the trees to 
grow Avith luxuriance. Wishing to carry still further my experiment, 1 
steeped in Avater some leaves of the tomato, anrl sprinkled with this infusion 
other plants, roses, and oranges. In tw r o days these A\ere also free from the 
innumerable insects which covered them, and I felt sure that, had I used 
the same means with my melon patch, I should have met with the same re¬ 
sult. I therefore deem it a duty I OAve to the Society of Horticulture to make 
known this singular and useful property of the tomato leaves, which I dis¬ 
covered by the merest accident.” 

Tlie Codling Motli and ©flier Enemies of tlie Apple. —This old 

enemy of the farmer is noAv getting in his work upon the growing apples. 
Where an orchard is infested with them, Ave knoAV of no reliable method of 
getting rid of them and sa\*ing the crop. The cureulio, Avhich is so destruc¬ 
tive to the plum crop, is of late quite as damaging to the apples, in somo 
sections doing much more harm than the former; and there is still another 
pest Avhich is working a terrible harm to the crop—the apple maggot ( Trip- 
peta PomoneUa). Tins burrows in the apple, often several maggots being 
found in the same apple. The eggs are laid by a small fly, somewhat resem¬ 
bling the common house-fly, but much smaller, through a small opening in 
the skin, made with its ovipositor. 

The best guard against these pests is for every farmer Avho has an orchard 
to keep sheep or SAvine running in it all the season through. These Avill eat 
up every infected apple and thus destroy the larva;, Avhich, if left unmo¬ 
lested, will bring forth a crop of pests for next year’s crop. If every one 
Avould do this, it is safe to assume that the ravages of these pests would be 
materially decreased. 

Diseased Cherry Trees. —Many of our neighbors’ cherry trees are be¬ 
coming knotty, and dying, Avrites a correspondent of The Rural New Yorker. 
A lady narrated in our hearing, a feAv evenings since, her experience AYith a 


ORCHARD A Hi) VINEYARD. H 7 

tree of the same description. A largo tree, of the common fed variety, 
stood by the kitchen door. The body and limbs were knotty and rough, the 
fruit scanty and worthless; the dead leaves in fall were continually drifting 
over the porch and walk; in fact, in the good housewife’s eyes, the tree was 
simply a nuisance, and she importuned her husband to remove it. He re¬ 
fused to do this, however, and she determined to kill the tree. First, a bar¬ 
rel of beef brine was poured about the roots, and this was followed by boil¬ 
ing suds, every wash day. The result was satisfactory, but far from that 
anticipated. The following season the tree was loaded with superior fruit, 
and was free from all knots and other defects. The enormous crop and 
changed appearance of the tree might not have been attributable to the ap¬ 
plication of brine and soap-suds, yet we believe the experiment to be worthy 
of trial. 

Kerosene as an Insect Destroyer. —Kerosene is a cheap and effective 
insecticide where it can be applied without injury to the growing tree or 
plant, but to what extent it can be safely used has not been fully deter¬ 
mined, the results obtained not being uniform. Spraying kerosene upon 
the leaves of cotton killed the plant. The bark of elm-trees, around which 
bands of felt saturated with kerosene had been applied, was destroyed 
wherever the oil reached it. The trunks of orange-trees which had been 
wet with kerosene to destroy scale insects were denuded of the greater part 
of the bark to which the oil had been applied. On the other hand, a bark 
louse, which was very abundant upon some ivy, was destroyed by the appli¬ 
cation of pure kerosene, with no apparent bad results to the vine. 

Protection Against Pear Blight —The Gardener's Monthly gives a 
statement from G-. It. Dykeman, of Sbippensburg, Pa., of his experiments in 
applying oil to the trunks of fruit trees—a practice which has been strongly 
recommended for its beneficial effects, among other things as a protection 
against pear blight. Mr. D. applied oil last year to 600 peach trees, 200 
apple, several pear and plum trees, and 100 cpiince. All the peach trees, 
five years planted, were killed; the other trees were not injured. Other 
peach trees were painted with refuse lard and linseed oil, and these are all 
dead. The object in greasing was to keep the rabbits off. Oil is sometimes 
applied for the white scale. 

Injuries to Trees—Injunes to trees should be repaired as soon as dis¬ 
covered. Limbs broken by snow and ice must be sawed off to make a 
smooth wound, and this covered with paint, varnish, or wax. Barking by 
mice or rabbits often looks more serious than it really is. The majority of 
cases will recover if the Avound is protected by a thick poultice of cow-dung 
and clayey loam, bound on Avith a piece of coarse material. In very severe 
cases the tree may be saved by connecting the bark above and beloAv the 
Avound, by means of tAvigs of the same tree; the. ends are chamfered, and 
inserted under the bark above and beloAv, to bridge over the Avound, coA r ei"- 
ing the exposed parts Avith grafting Avax. 

Protection Against tlie Plum Curculio. —A fruit gl'OAVer states that 
he kept a plum tree from curculios by sprinkling the ground under the tree 
Avith corn meal. This induced the chickens to scratch and search. The 
meal was streAvn every morning from the time the trees blossomed until the 
fruit Avas large enough to be out ot danger. The consequence was that the 
fowls picked up the curculios Avith the meal, and the tree, being saved from 
the presence of the insect. Avas Avonderfully fruitful. 


118 


THE FARM. 

Suggestions to Fruit Growers. —I find that lime, wood ashes and old 
iron put around the roots of declining fruit trees have a very beneficial 
effect, writes a fruit grower of many years’ experience. These fertilizers 
restore the tree to a healthy condition, and also greatly improve the fruit in 
quality and quantity. I made the application on a Windsap and Never Fail, 
about half a bushel of mixed lime and ashes to each, and dug it in with a 
hoe some six feet around the trunk, and put the old iron immediately 
around the base of each. 

The trees put forth with renewed vigor, bloomed abundantly, and yielded 
a good crop of fruit. An excellent wash for trees may be made thus: Heat 
an ounce of salsoda to redness in an iron pot, and dissolve it in one gallon 
of water, and while warm apply it to the trunk. After one applica¬ 
tion the moss and old bark will drop off and the trunk will be quite 
smooth. The wash has highly recuperative properties, making old trees 
bear anew. 

I have tried soft soap as a wash with good results, and also a coating of 
lime in the spring season, which is a fine specific for old trees. The ques¬ 
tion is often asked, is it best to manure trees in the fall or spring ? I have 
found the summer season to be a good time; I have much faith in mulching, 
especially young trees, for several seasons after they are planted. Apple 
trees are said to have two growths during the season—the secondary growth 
takes place after midsummer, hence it is that a top-dressing of good manure, 
and also coarse litter, facilitates the late growth, and often produces very 
marked results in the habit and formation of the tree. 

The good effect that mulching has to young trees is, that it wards off the 
intense heat of the sun from the tender roots, and also has a tendency to 
hold moisture. A good top-dressing of stable manure in the fall, around 
young trees, with a good many corn cobs cast over the surface of the soil, 
give satisfactory results. 

Ants on Young Trees. —An autlioidty says that ants do not destroy 
trees. The ants are after the lice Avhich are hurting the trees. These lice 
exude a sweet substance which attracts the ants, and the ants do no harm. 
To get rid of the lice make a solution of whale-oil soap, and add to a pailful 
one drachm of carbolic acid. Syringe or spray this on the under side of the 
leaves and it will either kill or drive away the lice, and the ants will be seen 
no more. 

Diseased Peacli Trees —The following is said to be a sure remedy for 
the yellows in peach trees: “ One part of saltpetre to two of salt, placed 
close to the body of a tree before a rain. It seems not only to destroy any 
fungoid growth of vermin which may be infesting the roots, but to act as an 
excellent fertilizer.” 

Suggestion Regarding Apple Trees —It is a good idea to wrap the 
trunks of apple trees with burlap sacks, and to examine the wrappings 
every few days, or at least every week, to ascertain if any of the grubs or 
Worms of the codling moth have found their way into them, that they may 
be destroyed. 

Tile Peacli Borer — A, fruit-grower placed tobacco-stems around the 
trunks of peach trees, and there is not the slightest sign of a borer in any of 
the trees so treated. He set the stems around the butts of the trees, and 
tied them at the top. It keeps off rabbits as well in winter. 


119 


ORCHARD AND VINEYARD. 

Fruit, Growing Jottings. —“Line upon line, precept upon precept,” 
says a Southern fruit grower, must be written regarding the proper manner 
of planting out fruit trees; not that there exists a great diversity of opinion, 
but because so little heed is paid to the plain teachings of nature and com¬ 
mon sense. “ The way father or grandfather did it ” is authority for the ma¬ 
jority, and they seek no further knowledge. 

Now the world moves, and many new and valuable methods have been 
devised which insure the desired kind and quality of fruit, hasten maturity 
and prevent decay. The non-progressive orchardist sells his fruit for a 
nominal figure, whenever he has any to sell, which is not often, and is con¬ 
tinually complaining because his orchard “ doesn’t pay.” It does pay for 
all the labor bestowed upon it, but it will not pay for what it does not 
receive. 

Any kind of a fruit tree is an enormous feeder if it produces any amount 
of fruit. Who can reasonably expect to receive barrel upon barrel from any 
given tree, year after year, when nothing is fed to it? As well might the 
owner expect to work a week on the memory of a Sunday dinner. 

Trees should be fed, therefore, and liberally, too, if large crops of fine 
fruit are expected from them. 

The old-fashioned way of crowding trees in the space devoted to orchard 
purposes is still persisted in, notwithstanding the teachings of nature to the 
contrary. Trees are crowded in the rows like lodgers in a tenement house, 
and the results are as disastrous in one case as in the other. Trees, like 
human beings, need air and light. They must have these, or their fives do 
not reach three score years and ten. Fruit will not grow in the shade, and it 
is beyond the power of any man to cause it to do so. 

’Tis true, when trees are young, a proper space seems unreasonably 
large—there seems to be a waste, but there really is none. It is question¬ 
able if planting small crops, like strawberries, melons, tomatoes, etc., is ad¬ 
visable, even in the earlier stages of growth, and it certainly is not unless a 
liberal quantity of some proper fertilizer is applied. As the tree enlarges 
and reaches out its arm-like branches, it asks for more food; it also asks 
that God’s sunlight may be permitted to kiss it from topmost branch to root, 
and unless this request is granted it shoots skyward, bearing no fruit except 
upon its highest branches, and becomes liable to be attacked by numerous 
diseases. 

Who has not noticed that a tree, standing solitary and alone, always 
bears a liberal quantity of fruit ? Who has not noticed that such trees are 
invariably healthy ? Who has not remarked that if the entire orchard was 
like this or that solitary tree, there would be money in fruit growing ? Must 
so plain a lesson be unheeded ? Can we not learn so simple a lesson with¬ 
out paying the immense price we do for tuition ? The number of trees upon 
a given area does not determine the value of the orchard. If they are in ex¬ 
cess of the proper number, they certainly are, comparatively, of little worth. 

One argument used by those who favor close planting is that the shade 
thereby produced kills the grass and weeds which would steal the life-blood 
of the tree. This argument is born of pure laziness, and if carried into 
effect, as it too often is, the tree is deprived of its means of thrift, that its 
loafing owner may not blister his hands or burn his neck in his efforts to 
keep grass and weeds from choking his trees. 

We have often walked through the orange groves on the lower Mississippi 
and been amazed at the imbecility so extensively displayed. A dense forest 
instead of an orchard, dead limbs and clinging moss, close thorny tops with 


120 


TJTK FARM. 


small, sour, gnarly, diseased fruit on the extremities, is the rule. Occasion* 
ally we find an orchard owned by a man who uses his brains for some useful 
purpose, and there we find fine trees, with sunshine all around them, with 
light, open branches, clean and smooth; large, pei’fect fruit on every twig 
and branch from top to bottom, far better in quality than his neighbor pro¬ 
duces. In the first instance the fruit is difficult to dispose of, and pi’ices are 
ruinous. The owner is always in debt and always will be. In the other 
case the fruit finds eager purchasers at remunerative figures. The owner 
“gets ahead” in the world by using a small modicum of brains with his 
muscle. 

In raising fruit trees for profit, the following general principles should 
not be overlooked: 1. Effective drainage; 2. Thorough preparation; 3. Lib¬ 
eral fertilization; 4. Procuring best varieties; 5. Intelligent cultivation; and 
each of these general principles may be sub-divided, and each will afford 
the owner a theme for constant study. 

That fruit growing, as now practiced, is non-paying, we are ready to 
admit; that it may be made immensely profitable, we confidently assert. To 
attain this desired object something must be done besides blindly treading 
in the footsteps of old Avays and expecting nature to perform impossibilities. 

The whole Southern country can be made a vast fruit-field. Any and 
every man may literally “ sit under his own vine and fig tree.” Millions can 
be annually added to our material wealth. There need be no poverty in 
such-a country, and there will be none in the near future, when our almost 
boundless resources are more fully developed. 

AVliat Pears Shall I Grow 1 —What is said regarding the growing of 
apples, pears, field crops, flowers, or any plant or crop having a place in our 
agricultural or gardening operations, must be said with reference to certain 
wants, conditions, circumstances, or localities, if the directions would pos¬ 
sess any value. No rule suits every case; no crop or plant is applicable to 
every locality; no advice meets every condition. Still, there are certain 
Avell-understood principles Ax r hich are of value, because embodying the accu¬ 
mulated results of the best practice, under A r arving conditions and circum¬ 
stances. 

Noav, as regards pears, a farmer or gardener who is to set a number of 
trees in spring would naturally ask, shall I set DAvarfs or Standards ? To 
this there might be given several answers, and they would take shape some¬ 
thing after this form: For profit, for permanency, for market purposes, the 
Standard; for quick returns at the expense of short life, for grounds of small 
extent, for family uses, the DAvarf. The Standards are long-lived, grow 
larger, and produce more fruit (one or tAvo varieties excepted) than the 
DAvarfs. Besides, the trees seem to have the habit of groAA r ing wood for 
futuro use—a good quality where one is planting for profit and permanency. 
The Dwarfs, on the other hand, come into bearing young, are well adapted 
for garden culture, or where a feAv pears are Avanted for family use, but at 
ten or a dozen years old ha\’e seen their best days. 

The tree is most at home in a rather heavy loam, but it must be warm 
and rich, kept clean and melloAV by frequent culture—something the trees 
delight in during the groAving season. Animal manure, Avood ashes, and 
farm compost are the best fertilizers, and these, as is Avell understood, 
should be applied in the fall. The best pear-groAvers are united in the belief 
that thorough and systematic pruning—not Avith saAV and knife, on the 
butchering principle, but the pinching off all surplus young shoots, when 


on CHARD AND VINEYARD , 


121 


not oyer four to six inches long—regulates the growth and welfare of the 
trees, and has a tendency to induce the maturity of the fruit spurs, by which 
means an earlier and better quality of fruit is obtained, while the tree itself 
is kept uniform, well balanced and handsome. If those not experienced in 
pear culture are to set out trees, they certainly cannot have a better guide 
than to ascertain from growers in their own localities the varieties best 
adapted to their soil, situation, local circumstances, rather than to learn these 
points by their own, perhaps expensive, experience. A day spent in obtain¬ 
ing this information among one’s neighbors will be time well used. 

After all, one likes to see varieties. So here is one, made up after much 
study and inquiry, which it is believed will not vary greatly from the list 
which a hundred of the best growers in the best pear sections of New Eng¬ 
land would recommend. It is true some we have placed high on the list 
might be put down a peg or two, and others brought to the top which we 
have placed further down; but a list of the best eight varieties would be very 
likely to include these sorts, in about these positions: 1. Bartlett, a general 
favorite, of admirable quality and always salable at the highest price. 2. 
Seckel, high flavor, productive, uniformly bringing a good price in market. 
3. Sheldon, a fine grower and good bearer, selling for the highest price. 4. 
Beurre d’Anjou, an excellent, productive and profitable sort. 5. Duchesse 
d’Angouleme, very popular and of the highest quality. 6. Beurre Bose, an 
esteemed late sort, high flavored and much in demand as a market pear. 7. 
Lawrence, a good bearing sort, one of the best winter pears. 8. Yicar of 
Wakefield, very productive, and, as it ripens out of season of most others, 
finds a ready market at good prices. 

Girdling Fruit Trees. —Some years ago, on an Iowa farm, a span of 
spirited horses, hitched to a wagon, got away from the driver and ran 
through the orchard, running over and badly barking some dozen trees. 
This was early in June. The next year those trees, and especially the 
limbs most barked and scarred, were full of fruit, while there was a very 
limited quantity on the balance of the orchard. 

But what is the philosophy of this girdling trees or vines to make them 
bear fruit? Trees and vines do not grow merely by the absorption of 
moisture and material direct from the earth. It is true the roots take up 
from the earth the water and mineral matter necessary for plant growth, but 
it does not go directly to the part where it is to stay. But these go up, not 
between the bark and wood, but in the body of the tree or vine to the leaves, 
where it is combined with the carbon which is absorbed by the leaves, and 
goes through Nature’s secret laboratory of combining water, mineral and 
carbon, until they are sufficiently digested to be used as wood growth, when 
it passes downward and is deposited in the infinitesimal cells beneath the 
bark. So that the growth is made by the downward flow of this prepared 
material for wood growth. 

Now, if the tree or vine be girdled on the body or limbs, this prepared 
sap cannot pass below where the bark is taken off, and consequently that 
part above the girdle receives more than its share of sap, while none is sup¬ 
plied to the body below the girdle. Thus the limbs are crowded with growth 
food, which causes the development of fruit buds—makes the limbs grow 
faster and the fruit larger. But this process, if the main body of the tree is 
operated on, will in the end ruin the tree. The body and roots must have 
nourishment as well as the branches, and this girdling deprives them of this 
support. If this system is practiced at all, it should be only a part, leaving 


122 


THE FARM. 

the ungirdled limbs to supply nourishment to the balance of the tree. June 
is the time girdling is done, which is only intended as preparatory to the 
next year’s crop. It is claimed, however, that girdling in June makes a more 
perfect development of the fruit then on the limbs. 

Girdling is done by taking out a rim of bark entirely around the tree, limb 
or vine, not over one-fourth of an inch wide. Sometimes this space is healed 
no the first year, but certainly the second year, if the tree be not too feeble 
and sickly. We advise all to go slowly and carefully in this matter, but it is 
worthy of an experiment by all. 

But yet there are many things which need studying, and diverse matters 
should be reconciled. One contends that girdling stops the rapid growth of 
the tree, and causes a more abundant fruitage. Another that giidling 
causes an abnormal growth of the limb, and the largely-increased pro- 
duction of fruit. Great are the mysteries of Nature. 

Covering f >r Wounds of Trees. —It often happens that, either by in¬ 
tention, as in pruning, or by accident, trees are wounded in various ways. 

A common practice is to cover large wounds with coal tar; but this is ob¬ 
jected to by some as injurious to the tree. Experiments made in the or¬ 
chards and gardens of the Pomological Institute, at Ituthlegen, in Germany, 
go to show, however, that its true use i3 not injurious; but that, on the con¬ 
trary, a callous readily forms under the tar, on the edges of the wound, and 
that the wounded part is thus protected from decay. There is, neverthe¬ 
less, another objection: for if the tar is applied a little too thick, the sun 
melts it, and it runs down on the bark of the tree. This can be obviated by 
mixing and stirring and thus incorporating with the tar about three or four 
times its weight of powdered slate, known as slate-flour—the mixture being 
also known as plastic slate and used for roofing purposes. It is easily ap¬ 
plied with an old knife or flat stick, and though it hardens on the surface, 
it remains soft and elastic underneath. The heat of the sun does not melt it, 
nor does the coldest winter weather cause it to crack—neither does it peei off. 

The same mixture is also useful for other purposes in the garden. Leaky 
water-pots, barrels, pails, gutters, sashes, etc., can be easily repaired with 
it, and much annoyance and loss of time be thus avoided. It will stick to 
any surface, provided it be not oily; and as it does not harden when kept in 
a mass, it is always ready for use. A gallon will last for a long time. 

A most excellent preparation for small wounds and for grafting, is thus 
prepared: Melt a pound of rosin over a slow fire. When melted, take it 
from the fire and add two ounces of balsam of fir (Canada balsam), or two 
ounces of Venice turpentine (not spirits of turpentine), stirring it constantly. 
As soon as it is cool enough, mix in four to six ounces of alcohol of 95 degrees 
strength—according to the season—until it is as thick as molasses.. It keeps 
well in close-corked bottles for a long time. Should it become too thick, by 
the gradual evaporation of the alcohol, it is easily thinned by putting the 
bottle m warm water and stirring in sufficient alcohol to bring it to a proper 
fluidity. It is applied with a brush. 

This preparation is much better than liquid grafting wax composed of 
resin, beef-tallow and spirits of turpentine, which often granulates. If 
there be any danger that the cions will dry up by evaporation, they may, 
beneficially, be brushed over with this composition, it being first made more 
fluid by adding alcohol. By this means I succeeded, in February of last 
year, in grafting a single eye of iEgle Sepinaria upon a lemon tree, in a dry 
sitting-room, without the use of any glass covering. 


OR CHARI) AtfD Yl YE YARD. 123 

Preserving Fruit. —Light and heat are the agents in ripening fruits. 
The sagacious pomologist, therefore, keeps them in a dark place and at as 
low a temperature as possible short of freezing. Heat and moisture cause 
decay. Hence the fruit room, in addition to being kept cool, is also kept dry. 
These three conditions were observed by Professor Myce in his system of 
preservations, ice being used for cooling, and proper dryers for taking up 
the superabundant moisture. We have had ripe tomatoes kept for three 
months in such a house, and in the most perfect manner. Fruit-growers 
may arrive sufficiently near the mark, so that fruit may be kept perfectly 
during the cold months, by means of frost-proof walls, and a careful system 
of ventilation, avoiding a thoi’ough draft. 

Since fruit is easily affected by odors, care should be taken that the air of 
any fruit house should be kept clean and sweet. To this end nothing but 
fruit should be kept in the fruit house— at least nothing that will give off un¬ 
pleasant odors. So particular are some in this respect that they will not 
keep apples and pears in the same room. To insure perfect cleanliness, the 
walls and floors should be frequently whitewashed with lime. We see no 
reason why the sub-earth air duct system may not be one of the best means 
for winter ventilation, as it certainly must be for sumifler ventilation. 

With care fruits may be retarded in their ripening for long periods. 
When wanted for use they are removed to a warm and light place, where 
they quickly mature. When extra fine specimens are to be preserved, they 
are carefully packed in some dry odorless substance, as cotton-wool, bran, 
buckwheat hulls, dry oak leaves, or pure sand. Land plaster is said to be 
an excellent means for saving apples through the winter intact. A thin 
layer of plaster is placed in the bottom of the barrel, then a layer of apples, 
and so alternately layer of plaster and apples until the barrel is tilled, when 
the barrel is headed and kept in a cool place until spring, coming out sound 
and intact. This plan should keep russets, and other varieties liable to 
shrivel, and those wishing to keep apples as late as possible, and having no 
fruit house, may find this plan valuable. There will be no loss in the plas¬ 
ter, for it will be worth all it costs, and more, for sowing on the land after 
the apples are used 

Bark Bice on Apple Trees. —Judicious pruning of the branches, drain¬ 
ing the land where the trees stand, manuring the soil and keeping it free 
from grass and weeds, all have the effect to promote vigorous growth, and 
are therefore useful in preventing the depredations of bark lice. Unless a 
vigorous growth of a tree can be insured, it is of little use to apply sub¬ 
stances to kill the lice. The lady-bird, whose presence should always be 
welcomed on farms, is the mortal enemy of the bark louse, as it is of many 
other sorts of insects. But hurtful insects increase so much faster than use¬ 
ful birds do that we may never expect to see the latter exterminate the 
former. Indeed, no amount of cultivation and no number of birds ever col¬ 
lected in an orchard will be sufficient to clear it of the scale bark lice, if they 
are generally distributed among the trees. If but a few trees have bark lice 
on them, and they are well covered Avith them, it is best to cut them up. 
This heroic treatment will prevent their spreading to other trees. The time 
to kill the insects is Avhen they begin to hatch. They are most readily killed 
by applying some wash to the bark with a stiff brush or swab. The articles 
most highly recommended for killing the lice are strong lye made of wood 
ashes, a solution of caustic soda of potash, diluted soft soap, and a mixturo 
of lime whiteAvash and kerosene oil. If the latter is employed, the propor- 


124 


THE FARM. 


tions of tlie mixture should be one pint of kerosene to a gallon of the white¬ 
wash. Whatever substances are chosen, they should be applied thoroughly. 
To insure complete destruction of the insect, a second application should be 
made some days after the first. 

Toj> Grafting Trees.—A practical fruitgrower gives the following as 
his mode of top grafting: I have in a measure discarded the old system of 
cleft grafting, for a cheap, safer and easier way. I save the cions by cut¬ 
ting them in the fall or early winter, pack in sand or sawdust and keep in a 
cool cellar. After the trees have come out in leaf, during May and June, 
cut a bud from the cion and insert under the bark well tied and waxed to 
keep out the air and water, setting one bud in each leading limb all over the 
tree. In the course of two or three weeks these buds will have connected or 
else have died. For all that have connected saw the limbs off above the bud 
and throw the growth into them. Those that have died set again in July or 
August with buds taken from the new growth of wood, and cut them off the 
next spring. I set tops in that way in twenty seedling apple trees twelve 
years old in June, 1878, putting in on an average twelve to the tree. In 
1884, six years from setting, they have forty bushels of Stark apples, worth 
one dollar per bushel. The expense of budding was ten dollars. If the 
same trees had been changed by cleft grafting the change would have cost 
two or three times that amount. 

Hints on Marketing Pears— Pears, whether early or late, should 
never remain on the tree until they become mellow. "Whenever they have 
made their growth they should be gathered. It is easy to tell the proper 
condition by observing the ease with which the stem parts from the tree. If, 
on taking hold of the pear and lifting it, the stem readily breaks away from 
the spur to which it is attached, the fruit has received all the nourishment it 
can get from the tree, and the sooner it is gathered the better. Pears are 
sent to market in crates and half barrels; especially fine specimens are sent 
in shallow boxes, only deep enough for a single layer of fruit, and each pear 
is wrapped in thin white paper. Extra specimens of any of the standard 
kinds will bring enough more to pay for this extra care in packing. The 
early varieties mature quicker after gathering than the later kinds, but all 
should reach the market in a firm and hard condition. As with all other 
fruits, it will pay to carefully assort pears. Make three lots, firsts and 
seconds for market, and the third for keeping at home—for the pigs, if need 
be; there is positively no sale for poor pears. 

Ants in the Orchard. —Many of the leading orchard proprietors in 
northern Italy and southern Germany are cultivators of the common black 
ant, an insect they hold in high esteem as the fruit grower’s best friend. 
They establish ant-hills in their orchards, and leave the police service of 
their fruit trees entirely to the colonists, which pass all their time in climb¬ 
ing up the stems of the fruit trees, cleansing their boughs and leaves of 
malefactors, mature as well as embryotic, and descending laden with spoils 
to the ground, where they comfortably consume or prudently store a wav 
their booty. They never meddle with sound fruit, but only invade such 
apples, pears and plums as have already been penetrated by the canker, 
which they remorselessly pursue to its fastness within the very heart of the 
fruit. Nowhere are apple and pear trees so free from blight and destructive 
insects as in the immediate neighborhood of a large ant-hill five or six vears 
old. The favorite food of ants would appear to be the larvse and pupa; of 


125 


OB CHARI) A HR VINEYARD. 

those creatures which spend the whole of their brief existence in devouring 
the tender shoots and juvenile leaves of fruit trees. 

Cultivating tlie Orchard—-A successful fruit grower pursues the 
following plan: He plows his orchard one way, leaving strips close to the 
trees about eight feet wide, and plants potatoes, covering them with straw. 
In the fall, when he digs his potatoes, he piles the straw, and the next spring 
he plows the ground crosswise and plants again, using the same straw. 
After the straw has been used two years, it is turned under in the fall, to 
manure the ground. In this way his orchard is manured with very little 
trouble, and he cultivates his orchard at the same time. He says that he 
does not believe, from his own experience, that it is good for fruit trees to 
have the plow run any closer than four feet on each side, but thinks it better 
to cultivate in this way between the rows than to seed down to grass ancl 
pasture. 

Hints on Gathering Apples and Pears.—Most people are disposed 
to gather the autumn fruits too soon. A rule is generally adopted by gar¬ 
deners, that if the pips of the apples or pears are turning brown, the crop 
may be taken; but a decidedly dark and settled hue of the seed is a safer 
criterion. As to the objection that waiting late into the autumn causes a loss 
of the fruit by falling, it has little weight, because it is by this process that 
the weaker and least sound fruit is got rid of, while the best remains. Tak¬ 
ing the crop too early will not only injure the good fruit by causing it to 
shrivel, but will also render frequent removals necessary in order to 
separate from the stock the rotten ones, wlfich would, of themselves, have 
fallen from the tree if more time had been given. 

To Preserve Pear Trees From Blight. —A New Hampshire fruit 
grower preserves his pear trees from blight by winding a rope of straw 
around the trunks so as to completely cover them from the ground to the 
limbs, keeping it on, moderately tight, through the season. His theory is 
that the blight is caused by the rays of the hot sun coming in contact with 
the body of the tree, heating the sap and causing it to dry up and the bark 
to grow to the wood of the tree. 

Iron for Fruit, Trees— The scales which fly off from iron being worked 
at forges, iron trimming, filings, or other ferruginous material, if worked 
into the soil about fruit trees, or the more minute particles spread thinly on 
the lawn, mixed with the earth of flower beds or in pots, are most valuable 
to the peach or pear, and, in fact, supply necessary ingredients to the soil. 
For colored flowers they heighten the bloom and increase the brilliancy of 
white or nearly white flowers of all the rose family. 

Secret of Raising trainees.—Purchase the orange variety, and set the 
trees from six to eight feet apart in rich soil. Bandage the stem with two or 
three wrappings of old cloth as far down in the ground as possible, as the 
root starts from uear the surface. Let the bandages run six or eight inches 
above the ground, then pack the soil a couple of inches around the band¬ 
ages. This should be renewed every spring. 

Fruit Pests. —At the time when fruit trees are blossoming, and when 
sparrows have commenced their annual raids upon them, a good way of 
driving away these diminutive plagues, consists of lime-washing the trees. 
When thus whitened, the birds disappear. 


126 


THE FARM. 



IN THE VINEYARD.—FIG. 1. 


In the Vineyard.—We present herewith a brief illustrated article, from 
the pen of a successful grape grower, giving some hints and suggestions on 
the planting and culture of grape vines, which we think will be found inter¬ 
esting: 

“ I have been looking over my former years’ work, have been reading 
back, or rather over again the views of others, and after studying all I took 
my spade and digging fork and went to an Isabella vine, planted some ten 

years or more since, and 
which has never shown any 
disease, but yearly ripened 
its fruit regularly and 
evenly. It was on clay 
soil. I dug carefully all 
around it a distance of four 
feet each way from the 
vine, or eight feet diam¬ 
eter, took out a trench with 
the spade, then with my 
fork I commenced to shake 
out roots, which I found 
much as here represented 
(Fig. 1). 

Of course the length of 
the roots is not here shown, 
for some I broke off in digging; but there was no direct tap root of any size, 
and altogether the larger portion of the roots were within-ten inches of the 
surface. Small roots as large as a goose quill, it is true, were apparently 
down below. Some of them pulled upon lifting the vine, others broke off, 
but there was not a large or main root so situated. It may not be that this 
is any guide showing the general habit of roots of the vine, when grown in 
vineyards of clay soils and yearly pruned; but for the present I will so con¬ 
sider it, and when I plant avoid, as I have generally heretofore, setting the 
roots too deep. Most workers on the grape tell us that the roots must be 
planted deep, at least, they must have ten inches of soil over and above the 
upper root of the plant; and •. 
they tell us that if the plants 
are too small for such pur¬ 
pose, then we must excavate 
a basin, set the plant, and as 
it grows fill up around the 
stem. The accompanying . 
figure shows this mode of 
planting as I understand it 
(Fig. 2). A straight line drawn across from the ends of the dotted line would 
show the level of the ground; the dotted line the excavation, with the plant 
having two eyes, and set in just deep enough to cover the lower eye or bud 
with soil. The roots are shortened as here shown to about eighteen inches 
in length and spread out regularly, setting the base of the main stem on a 
little mound or rise, not a sharp cone, but a broad mound. 

The next manner of planting, highly recommended by a good cultivator, I 
have followed with good results. It is to prepare the ground where this 
plant is to stand by finely pulverizing it, then excavate a breadth or circle 
sufficiently wide to admit of straightening out the entire roots of the vine 







ORCHARD A HD VINEYARD. 


127 


without cutting away a single inch; make the excavation about six inches 
deep at the outside of the circle and rising so that the center is four inches 
below the level of the surrounding ground. Fig. 3 shows this method, the 
straight line being the surface of the mound on which the plant is placed 
before filling in the earth. This depth for planting I believe a good one.’’ 


Winter Care of Grape Vines. —AH varieties of grape vines not thor¬ 
oughly hardy should receive some winter protection to secure best results, 
and it is claimed by many that it pays to give protection to the hardiest 
kinds even. Some growers attribute their success with Delaware, Duchess, 
Roger’s Hybrids, etc., simply to covering, while their neighbors signally fail 
with the same varieties. As the treatment in both cases is exactly alike, 
the different results can only be attributed to the protection given in one 
case and its omission in the other. The process is simple, and depends on 
the extent of the operation. After the vines have shed their leaves and ma¬ 
tured their wood, they should be pruned, and on the approach of cold 
weather, loosened from the trellis, bent down on the ground, and held there 
with stakes, rails, or something similar. This is sometimes found sufficient, 
especially when snow lies till late in the spring. If not satisfied with this 
dependence, a slight covering with leaves, straw, cornstalks, limbs of ever¬ 
greens, will prove effectual. 

If danger is to be apprehend¬ 
ed from the depredations of 
mice, which in some sections 
are very troublesome, a slight 
covering of earth on the top 
is all that is necessary. It 
should be remembered that 
it is the young wood of the 
present season’s growth that 

is to be protected—this contains the buds in which are the embryo fruit 
cluster for next year’s crop. Of course, similar protection would not hurt 
the old wood, but it is not always feasible to provide it. But the main ques¬ 
tion necessarily preceding all this, on which depends the success or entire 
failure of the whole operation, is the maturity and thorough ripening of the 
wood. 



IN THE VINEYABD.—FIG. 3. 


Keeping Grapes. —In Europe a method of preserving grapes is now 
very generally followed. The cluster is cut with a piece of the cane still 
attached, and the lower end of the cane is inserted in the neck of a bottle 
containing water. Grapes thus treated are kept in a perfect manner for a 
long time. European journals have figured racks and other devices for 
holding the bottles in such a manner that they may sustain the weight of the 
fruit, and also to allow the clusters to hang free, and much as they would 
upon the vine. Wo are not aware that this method has been tried with our 
native grapes. These, even at the holidays, when the price is the highest, 
sell for too little to make this method of keeping profitable, but for home 
use, the experiment seems to be worth trying. 

Keeping Grapes in. Cellars.^— If grapes mature perfectly they may be 
kept for a considerable length of time if cut without bruising, and hung up 
in a dry, cool, and rather dark cellar. The stem should be covered, when 
cut, with wax, and hung with tho stem up. Immature grapes will not keep 
in this way or any other, 





128 


THE FARM. 


Keeping Grapes in Winter —Perhaps among the many methods and 

devices employed in keeping grapes in their natural state for winter use, 
there will be found none better than the simple ones we here illustrate and 

describe. The first method 
is to take new soap boxes, 
or any other box of about 
that size, and nail cleats on 
the inside of the ends or 
sides about one inch from 
the top, and between them 
bars at various distances, as 
required by the varying 
length of the bearing shoot 
cuttings. The bars are 
made by nailing a small 
strip on top of each, as 
shown in our illustration, 
Fig. 1. As late as possible 
fig. 1.—keeping gbapes in winter. cut off the bearing shoots 

containing the bunches, with 
pruning shears, and shorten them so they will crowd between the end of the 
box and the top part of the bar, resting on the bottom part, thus hanging the 
bunches in their natural position. By this method the boxes can be handled 
without shaking the shoots off the bars, carried to the light, each bunch ex¬ 
amined as winter advances, decaying ber¬ 
ries or bunches removed, and the best 
kept without any moldy taste, as is so 
common when they are packed solid. 

Another method of preserving grapes 
for winter, is in the first place to have the 
bunches as perfect as possible. Cut 
away all green, decayed or imperfect 
berries. Air them sufficiently to slightly 
dry or cure the stem, then keep the grapes 
cool, dry and in the dark. Shallow boxes, 
of about five inches in depth, are well 
adapted to keeping grapes, but the wood 
should not be of a resinous character but 
Avhollv odorless, that the fruit may not be 
tainted. Our illustration, Fig. 2, repre¬ 
sents a plan adopted by the French, 
which is to suspend the bunches from 
hoops in a warm room or dry cellar. In 
this position they may bo readily exam¬ 
ined at any time. It is said that grapes 
will keep well treated in this manner. 




How to Prune the Grape._The FIG. 2.— KEEPING GRAPES IN 
custom has usually been to prune in winter. 

February, but we believe it would be 

better if done earlier. The excised portions should be cut up in pieces from 
one to two feet in length, as the buds might be best adapted to planting, tied 
in bundles of, say, one or two dozen, and buried a few inches under the soil 
































ORCHARD AN1) VINEYARD, 129 

in a, location whence the water would drain off, or under an mien »l„„i 
There they would keep fresh and in full life until planting in the spring 
The vines should be cut loose from the trellis and left to sprawl ov« the 
ground, in which position they will stand the winter much better. 

A Cheap Trellis —Our illustration upon this page gives a e-oorl irlen nf 
a permanent and quite cheap grape- P S g & S °° d ldea of 

vine trelhs. The posts rest on stones 
sunk a little into the ground. The 
posts may be of any desired size of 
timber. A capping piece connects 
them along each side, and cross pieces 
join the opposite posts. Wire is used 
for the lattice work. Such a trellis 
costs about fifty cents a running foot, 
and is not at all unsightly. 


Culture of Hardy Grapes._J. T. 

Lovett, of Little Silver, the well-known 
New Jersey fruit grower, says in re¬ 
gard to the culture of hardy grapes: 

Plant in rows six feet apart, and the 
vines eight feet apart in the rows. Dig 
holes twelve to fifteen inches deep, and 
of a size amply large to accommodate 
the vines. They should then be filled 
to within six or eight inches of the top 
with fine, rich soil, throwing in while 
doing so a few bones or some wood 
ashes, if to be had. Cut back one-year 
vines to two eyes, placing the lower 
one below the surface; two-year vines 
to three or four eyes, and putting two 
or three eyes below the surface. 

Spread out the roots (which should 
have previously had one-third their 
length cut off), place the stock of the 
vine at one side of the hole, and fill 
with fine soil, pressing it firmly. When 
planted, set a stake at the stock (to 
which the vine should be kept tied), 
which will be all the support required 
for two years. Keep old wood trimmed 
off, growing fruit on new canes. Any 
manner of pruning that will admit the 
sun to the fruit will insure a crop; and laying the vines on the ground, even 
without covering, will increase both the quality of the fruit and the size of 
the bunches, besides insuring safety from injury by frost. For mildew 
dust with flower of sulphur while the vines are wet. 

Bleeding Grape Vines. —It is stated that an English grape grower 
stopped the profuse bleeding of a thrifty grape vine by forming a sort of 
hard cement over the cut ends by repeated dustings at short intervals with 
Portland cement. 




































SMALL FRUITS. 


Cranberry Culture— The constantly increasing price of the cranberry, 
ind the great numbers of marshes with alluvium soil free from clay or loam 
that one meets almost everywhere, prompts the question why cranberries 
are not more generally cultivated. Of all the self-supporting crops, none 
needs less care than the cranberry, if the conditions that govern its culture 
are first complied with, and none certainly shows greater financial results. 
The first essential is the marsh and its soil, with reference also to the ability 
to control the water supply. A soil having any proportion of clay should be 
avoided, and selection made of a combined decaying vegetable mass, with 
natural sand, and the less loam there is in this the better. Eastern growers 
cover their marshes with sand, but in the West, if the swamp, upon exami¬ 
nation, seems to have a fair amount of sand or silex, it is quite probable that 
success may be attained in putting out the plants without this sand nmlch. 
As a rule, it is a greater guarantee of success to have a stream of water 
crossing the marsh, for then in dry weather the gates can be closed and the 
marsh satui’ated, and if insect pests make their appearance the vines can be 
submerged for a day, which will make the worms loosen their hold, but the 
chances may be taken on a common “ dry ” patch of swamp. It is supposed 
that any one who attempts the culture of cranberries will make the dams 
and embankments of the most solid and substantial character, with gates 
that will not only work, but be water-tight, else failure will come with the 
first freshet. Ditching should next be seen to, and rapid drainage secured. 
This is done by a broad central channel and lateral ditches, which should 
aot be at right angles to it, but approaching it in diagonal lines. The 
amount of water will have to be taken into consideration—the more water, 
the more ditches—a fact that will determine also the width of the main out¬ 
let. If the swamp is of some extent, it is to be presumed that a ditch at 
least six or eight feet in width will be needed. These ditches should not be 
over two feet in depth, and unless there are very heavy discharges of water 
from the uplands, or natural water courses, the side ditches need not be 
nearer than one hundred feet from each other. One ditch should always 
run parallel with and about six feet, or even more, from the dam; the soil 
thrown out can be utilized in building the darn. The planting requires some 
discernment. If the muck is covered with alders, reeds, and the like, a 
great amount of labor will have to be performed in advance, but the experi¬ 
ence of a great many has been, where the muck was only covered with a 
growth of wild grass, that the ditching and consequent dry soil will so hinder 
its growth that the berry vines will thrive and soon force it into subjection, 
and, upon the whole, it will, in the first year of the growth of the cranberry, 
prove a source of profit in the way of protection from exposure and the like. 
By this method the labor of setting the vines will only be one of thrusting a 
narrow spade into the soil, pushing the handle over to one side, insert the 
plants, three or four in number, and press the soil firmly about the plants 
with the foot. Where weeds and wild sage have a strong hold upon the 



131 


SMALL FRUITS. 

swamp, the removal of the turf is the only way to succeed with the cran¬ 
berries. To pay $50 and $75 an acre to clear the ground, in addition to the 
expense of ditching, seems a large outlay, but when the plants have estab- 
( hshed themselves and you find, that the acre has produced one hundred to 
one hundred and fifty bushed of berries, worth $4 per bushel, the “light 
shines from an entirely different quarter.” Planting these hills three feet 
apart each way gives both ample room and chance for cultivation, and in a 
couple of years the plants will occupy the entire ground, and if no chance is 
* given to seed the ground with weeds, the care of the vines will be quite a 
small item for several years. 


Preparing Soil for Strawberries —Upon this subject E. P. Roe writes 
as follows: In the garden, light soils can be given a much more stable and 

* productive character, covering them with clay to the depth of one or two 
inches every fall. The winter’s frost and rain mix the two diverse soils to 
their mutual benefit. Carting sand on clay is rarely remunerative; the 
reverse is decidedly so, and top-dressing of clay on light land is often more 

^ beneficial than equal amounts of manure. 

As practically employed, I regard quick stimulating manures, like guano, 
very injurious to light soils. I believe them to be the curse of the South. 
They are used “ to make a crop,” as it is termed; and they do make it for a 
few years, but to the utter impoverishment of the land. 

And yet, by the aid of these stimulating commercial fertilizers, the 
poorest and thinnest soil can be made to produce good strawberries if suf¬ 
ficient moisture can be maintained. Just as a physician can rally an 
exhausted man to a condition in which he can take and be strengthened by 
food, so land, too poor and light to sprout a pea; can be stimulated into pro¬ 
ducing a ineagre green crop of some kind, which plowed under, will enable 
the land to produce a second and heavier burden. This, in turn, placed in 
the soil, will begin to give a suggestion of fertility. Thus poor or exhausted 
soil can be made by several years of skillful management, to convalesce 
slowly into strength. 

Coarse, gravelly soils are usually even worse. If we must grow our 
^ strawberries on them give the same general treatment that I have 
gested. 

On some peat soils the strawberry thrives abundantly; on others it burns 
and dwindles. With a soil, I should experiment with bone dust, ashes, et" 
until I found just what was lacking. 

No written directions can take the place of common sense judgment, and 
above all, experience. Soils vary like individual character. I have yet to 
learn of a system of rules that will teach us how to deal with every man we 
\ meet. It is ever wise, however, to deal justly and liberally. He that 

* expects much from his land must give it much. 

I have dwelt at length upon the preparation and enrichment of the land, 
since it is the corner stone of all subsequent success. Let me close by 
emphasizing again the principle Avhich was made prominent at first. Though 
, we give our strawberry plants everything else they need, our crop of fruit 
will still be good or bad in proportion as we are able to maintain abundant 
moisture during the blossoming and fruiting season. If provision can be 
made for irrigation, it may increase the yield tenfold. 


i 


sug- 


* When to Plant Strawberries. —The above question is often asked, 
and its answer must depend upon circumstances. One fact about the straw- 





132 


THE FARM. 


berry plant should be known, and this will enable each one to decide for 
him self. The plants that are sent out by nurserymen are those that w r ere 
formed last year by the runners from old plants taking root in the soil of the 
bed. If these are taken up in the usual way and planted in a new bed—it 
may be after the lapse of several days—they require a whole season to get 
established and become sufficiently strong to bear a crop. If these plants 
are set this spring, they will bear a crop next spring; if such plants are set 
next autumn, they will require all of next season to grow in, and while they 
may produce here and there a few berries, they will give no real crop until 
the following year. Growers of fruit for market set a share of their plants in 
the fall, because then they have leisure and the ground is in excellent con¬ 
dition. If the plants are made to strike root in pots, these in early autumn 
may be planted in beds without any disturbance of their roots, and will give * 
a fair crop next spring. Such plants are more expensive than others, and if 
a crop of fruit is wanted next spring, it is better to set out the plants now. 
Making the rows two feet apart, and setting the plants one foot apart in the 
row, as a general rule is best. 

With regard to protecting strawberry plants, if some light material can be < 
put over the plants that will not smother and rot them, and yet will be just 
enough to make shade from the winter sun and a screen from frosty winds, 
it will be doing a good turn to the strawberry plant. Manuro is bad. There 
is salt in it, especially Avhen fresh, which is destructive to foliage; but clean < 
straw, or swamp, or marsh hay that is free from weeds, answers the purpose 
very well. But it must not be put on very thick. The idea is, just enough 
to make a thin screen, and yet enough to hold the moisture long. Shade ( 
without damp is the idea. Such light protection is good for the plant. 

Covering Strawberries. —The strawberry endtires cold well, writes a 
successful small fruit grower, but not the great sudden changes of tempera- ' 
ture, and cold, drying winds. If the situation is such that the plants are not 
exposed to the winds, and the stools are large and thick with foliage, this 
foliage will be a sufficient protection; doubtful, however, should the snow be 
very deep and close packed, and lio long, or ice form on the surface of the 
ground, locking it for a long time. It is worse still if the frost extends deep S 
into the ground. Under such circumstances the smothering influence may 
either kill the plant or seriously injiire it. The plants without covering are 
safe where the winter is mild and the soil has perfect drainage. But the safe 
thing is to cover the plants. For perfect protection I find nothing so good as 
hemlock brush, or straw kept in place by a hemlock bough, with the con¬ 
cave side under, thus preventing the fatal pressure of the snow. I put on 
the covering at the beginning of winter, and keep it on until spring frosts are 
over. The plant will then come out fresh, strong and unharmed, and imme¬ 
diately push its growth. s> 

This answers for a small plot of ground. For field culture, light stable ! 
manure with three or four parts of sawdust, or other fine vegetable absorb¬ 
ent, to one of manure, succeeds well as a covering, but should be used only 
where the soil requires the fertility, as too high manuring produces foliage 
rather than fruit. 

\ egetable material worked into the soil is one of the best elements in the 
strawberry culture, as also in the culture of other berries. It loosens clay 
and improves the character of sandy soil, seeming also to form the right 
pabulum for the fruit. I also get the best crops and the finest berries in this 
way. Two weeks ago I gave the plants a sprinkling of liquid manure 



SMALL Ftitrirg. 133 

(diluted urine), and they are brightening up and invigorated so as to with¬ 
stand the winter better, and put out strong and early in the spring. This 
attention is only a trifle, but it helps a good deal. The strawberry, like the 
grape, is very susceptible to treatment, and can be made to do much more 
than we usually see. 

cultivation Of Strawberries — An Illinois journal says that the pre¬ 
paration of the ground for strawberries, and, indeed, for all berry fruits 
raised in the garden, is exceedingly simple. Any land rich enough to bring 
forty to fifty bushels of corn per acre, under good cultivation, will do. The 
ground should be plowed deeply and thoroughly well pulverized. Mark the 
land if for field culture, the distance as for corn. If for garden culture, the 
field may be marked both ways, and one good plant placed at each intersec¬ 
tion, spreading the roots naturally, placing the plants so the crowns Avill not 
be above the surface, giving a little water to the roots if the soil be not fairly 
moist, and after the water has settled away, drawing the dry earth over all. 
For garden culture, one plant to three fe>et of space will be sufficient, unless 
the plants are to be raised in stools, and the runners kept cut out, when a 
plant to each two feet will be about right, if you want extra large berries. 
The cultivation is simple. The spaces between the rows, about two feet 
wide, may be kept clean with the cultivator. In the rows the weeds may be 
kept, early in the season, clean with the cultivator; later, when the runners 
have encroached on the rows, the weeds must be pulled out if necessary, 
but on fairly clean soil, the cultivation will not be difficult. Beds of the pre¬ 
vious year, and which should be in full fruit this season, may be kept clean 
between the rows with the cultivator. The weeds will not trouble much 
until the crop is gathered. 

About Raspberries. —Not one-half the people grow raspberries that 
should. To say nothing of the excellence of this fruit freshly taken from the 
vines, with cream or without, it is really the best there is for canning, and 
either raw or canned it finds a ready market. It is easily cultivated, pro¬ 
duces large crops, and has few insect enemies. 

In starting a bed the best time is in the fall, but if neglected then, plant 
early in the spring, pressing the earth firmly about the roots and cutting the 
canes off six inches high. Count all suckers as weeds except three to five to 
the hill. The hills may be four feet apart each way, so they can be worked 
with the plow and cultivator. No stakes are needed, for the canes are kept 
stocky by being pinched off hen about a yard high. 

As to varieties, of course there is none better for this locality than the 
Brandywine. It is true and tried. It carries well to market, and its bright 
red color makes it the most salable berry in the catalogiae. For home use 
alone it is no better than the Herstine, but this is not solid, and the plants 
need eoveifing in winter north of this latitude. The Herstine is a splendid 
berry—good enough for anybody. The Philadelphia is a valuable old stand¬ 
ard, but is soft and too dark in color. The Reliance is nearly of the same 
color, but we believe every way better than the Philadelphia. 

The Cuthbert is immensely praised just now, and so many unite in com¬ 
mending it, that it certainly must have merit. It is perfectly hardy, and 
thrives North and South. It is said to be very productive, the berries are 
immense, and the bearing time holds on a long time. The Queen of the 
Market is quite similar to the Cuthbert, in fact so nearly alike are the two 
berries, that many consider them identical. 


134 


THE FARM. 


The above are all red varieties. Of the black caps the Mammoth Clatter 
is the old popular variety, but the new Gregg is said to be greatly superior 
to it. 

The Blackberry and Whortleberry. —Those who find it difficult to 
get good ripe blackberries and whortleberries maybe glad to know that they 
can be grown in their own gardens as well as the strawberry, and that with 
the right treatment they will surpass in flavor and size any which may have 
grown in their grandfather’s day. The low-busli or running blackberry 
grows best on a warm soil of either sandy loam or gravel, and when properly 
grown and well ripened is much better than any of the high bush varieties. 
The plants should be set in May, in rows three feet apart and two feet in the 
rows. Care should be taken to select good strong young roots, and those 
which bear large sweet berries, avoiding those which bear the sour berries 
that ripen later in the season; it is best to mark the plants when the fruit is 
ripening, or secure the assistance of one who knows where the right variety 
grows. For garden culture the ground should be Avell hoed the first part of 
the season, and mulched with leaves or hay about the first of August. If 
properly cared for the first year, but little needs to be done the next spring; 
the crop will be large if the vines are well supplied with w T ater during the 
ripening season; during this time they require quite as much w r ater as the 
strawberry. The berries should not be picked until fully ripe, and to be in 
the best condition for sauce should be picked but a short time before eaten; 
when thus picked, they surpass in richness and flavor the strawberry; as it 
cannot be transported wiien fully ripe, any better, if so well as the strawberry, 
its good qualities are known only to those who cultivate it in their own gar¬ 
den, and understand the right time to pick it. But few dishes can be placed 
upon the table so acceptable as a dish of good, well-ripened blackberries of 
the variety which grow on the low running vines. To keep the garden clean, 
new vines should be set every year, and the old ones removed as soon as the 
berries are picked. The whortleberry, both the high and the low-bush, re¬ 
quires a different treatment from the blackberry; it will grow r on almost any 
soil. Bushes should be selected that are known to produce large-sized and 
good flavored berries; they should bo set near enough together to shade the 
ground; a large portion of the top should be cutoff’; the ground be mulched 
with a heavy coat of leaves, and should not be disturbed by cultivation, but 
should be kept well mulched until the bushes are thick enough and large 
enough to shade the ground, and thus they protect themselves; when once 
established they require but little care. When the bushes seem to have too 
much old wood to bear well, they should be cut down to the ground in the 
autumn; the next year they will make a vigorous growth, and the year after 
bear some very large berries, but not a full crop until the following year. 

Gooseberries and Currants —There is no reason why both these very 
useful fruits should not be found abundantly in every garden. They are no 
trouble to raise. They grow readily from cuttings. Take the wood of last 
year, from six to ten inches in length; prepare the bed or place where they 
are to stand permanently; force them into the ground not less than four 
inches, press the dirt firmly around them, mulch them, and let them alone. 
If a brush is desired let the buds on the cuttings remain; but if a tree or 
single stem be preferred, remove all the buds that would go beneath the 
surface. Let them stand about three feet in the row; and if there is more 
than one row, let the rows be four feet apart. 


SMALL FLU ITS. 


135 


In the spring the aead wood of both the gooseberries and currants should 
be cut out, and the new growth should be thinned where there is too much, 
as it will interfere with the product. The best red currant is the Dutch, and 
the best gooseberries are Downing’s Prolific and Houghton’s Seedling. 

Advantages of Mulching. —The Germantown Telegraph says: “ Al¬ 
though we have suggested many times in the past the great advantage of 
mulching raspberry and blackberry beds, it cannot be suggested too often. 
But this mulching should not be done or rather renewed in the season until 
the heat of the sun or drought requires it; neither should it be done until 
after'the suckers or new plants show themselves and are of sufficient height 
not to be injured by the application of the mulch, which, if too thick and 
applied too soon, will in a great measure prevent the sprouting, and where 
it does not'will cause the sprouts to be weak and spindling. Currant bushes 
also delight in a moist, cool soil, and mulching provides this if applied in 
sufficient quantity. Anything in the way of weeds, small branches of trees, 
grass from lawn cuttings, etc., will answer. The mulching of tomato plants, 
egg plants, etc., will prove very beneficial. We know that some persons 
have not our faith in mulching, and prefer beds of plants, young trees, etc., 
to have the soil stirred up about them frequently. This, we are aware, is 
excellent, but it does not hinder the mulching also. Let the old mulch be 
removed, the soil well loosened, and then apply fresh mulch.” 

Fall Setting of Small Fruits. —It is urged that those contemplating 
setting small fruits should give one trial at least to fall setting. All that is 
necessary is to either back up over the roots with earth, or throw a forkful 
of litter over each plant, before the ground freezes up, and in the spring haul 
this away. First, because they get settled in their place, and getting the 
benefit of early spring rains, start early, and make a full growth next season, 
while if set next spring, it cannot be done properly until the ground is set¬ 
tled and the heavy spring rains have ceased. Second, all fruit growers know 
how pressed they are for time in the spring. Third, raspberries and black¬ 
berries have very tender germs that start very early in the spring, and these 
are likely to be broken off if set then, while if set in the fall, they have not 
started enough to damage them in transplanting. And fourth, but not least, 
a much larger proportion of them live when set in the fall—a fact abundant 
in itself to show the superior merits of fall planting, especially of blackber¬ 
ries, raspberries, currants, grapes, and such sorts. 

Red Raspberry_ There is no fruit that is in greater demand at such 

paying prices, and with which the market is so poorly supplied, as the red 
raspberry, and one reason why the market is so poorly supplied is because 
there has been sent over the country so many tender sorts that have so 
easily winter killed, but now with such hardy and productive sorts as the 
Brandywine, Philadelphia, Turner, Highland Hardy, Thwack and Cuthbert, 
and that succeed so well wherever tried, there is no excuse for not having 
this delicious fruit in abundance. Another reason why they pay so pooily is 
that they have been allowed to grow helter skelter all over the ground. If 
you would have fruit in abundance, and of larger size, the suckexs must be 
kept down same as weeds, and the same cultivation that will keep the ground 
in proper plight and keep weeds down will keep suckei'3 down. 

Easy Method of Cultivating Small Fruits— A writer in the New 
York Tnbune says: “It is a source of constant regret with farmers that 


136 


THE FA JIM. 


small fruits require so much care and attention, and that, too, in the season 
when they are hardest at work at something else. Field work must be done 
at all events, and the ‘ berry patch ’ struggles on single handed with the 
weeds and grass, till it submits to the inevitable sward. Some years ago 
coming into possession of a patch of black cap raspberries that had received 
the usual shiftless culture, I treated them in the following way: After care¬ 
fully plowing and hoeing them, I covered the ground with a heavy layer of 
very strawy manure, and the work was done, not only for that year but for 
the two years following, only renewing the mulch each spring. Only a 
few struggling Canada thistles will ever grow through such mulch; the soil 
is always rich and moist, and the berries can ask no better treatment. Since 
that time I have tried the same plan without removing the sod, and find the 
result is quite as satisfactory. Farmers, try it, and you will not need to 
complain that berries cost more than they arc worth. 

Winter Protection of Strawberry Vines. —A good strawberry pro¬ 
tector is a cheap baked-clay saucer, twelve to thirteen inches in diameter, 
with a hole in the center. The advantages claimed by its use are: a much 
larger crop; much finer berries; cleaner, and free from sand and dirt; 
mulching the ground; the retention of the rains to the roots of the vines; 
killing the weeds; early ripening; easier picking. They are turned over as a 
winter protection to the vines. Persons who have used it pronounce it the 
most important invention ever made in connection with strawberry raising. 

Setting a Strawberry Bed. —The old plan of spading under a portion 
of the old strawberry bed, so as to leave the plants in rows, will not pay. 
Better reset clean land with vigorous plants, arranging to grow a crop of 
potatoes every third year to clean the land and mellow it. The picking of 
berries on heavy clay lands causes it to become so packed as to require cul¬ 
tivating at least one season in every four with some hoed crop. Strawberry 
plants may be set in May or in August; in fact, at almost any time during the 
spring, summer or fall season. 

Easy Method of Disposing of the Currant Worm. —A successful 
small fruit grower circumvents the ravaging currant worm by allowing no 
sprouts to grow. He allows but three main stems to a bush, and rubs off 
all root sprouts when about six inches long. The worms begin with the new 
growth first; hence, he says, no sprouts, no worms. The fruit also is far 
finer on plants thus treated, the common red Dutch being nearly as large as 
the Cherry currant, and a better bearer. 

An Easy Method of Irrigation. —An old fruit can may be pierced 
with one or more pin holes, and then sunk in the earth near the roots of the 
•trawberry or tomato, or other plants, the pin holes to be made of such size 
that when the can is filled with water the fluid can only escape into the 
ground very slowly. Practical trials of this method of irrigation leave no 
doubt of its success. Plants thus watered yield bounteous returns through¬ 
out the longest droughts. 

Trellises for Blackberries and Raspberries. —The fruit canes of the 
blackberries and raspberries should be tied up to stakes or trellises. 
The young growing canes form the fruiting ones lor next year; cut away ali 
except three to five to each stool, and when large enough tie them up; they 
should be pinched off at four feet for raspberries and six feet for blackberries. 


LIVE STOCK. 


How to Judge a Horse.— 1 . Never take the seller’s word. If dis¬ 
posed to be fair, he may have been the dupe of another, and will deceive 
you through representations which cannot be relied upon. 

2. Never trust a horse’s mouth as a sure index of his age. 

3. Never buy a horse while in motion; watch him while he stands at rest 
and you will discover his weak points. If sound, he will stand firmly and 
squarely on his limbs without moving any of them, feet planted flat upon the 
ground, with legs plump and naturally poised. If one foot is thrown for¬ 
ward with the toe pointing to the ground and the heel raised, or if the foot is 
lifted from the ground and the weight taken from it, disease of the navicular 
bone may be suspected, or at least tenderness, which is a precursor of dis¬ 
ease. If the foot is thrown o\it, the toe raised, and the heel brought down, 
the horse has suffered from lamnitis, founder, or the back sinews have 
sprained, and he is of little future value. When the feet are all drawn to¬ 
gether beneath the horse, if there has been no disease, there is a misplace¬ 
ment of the limb at least, and weak disposition of the muscles. If the horse 
stands with his feet spread apart, or straddles with his hind legs, there is 
weakness of the loins, and the kidneys are disordered. When the knees are 
bent, and totter and tremble, the beast has been ruined by heavy pulling, 
and will never be right again, whatever rest and treatment he may have. 
Contracted or ill-formed hoofs speak for themselves. 

4. Never buy a horse with a bluish or milky coat in his eyes. They in¬ 
dicate a constitutional tendency to ophthalmia, moon-blindness, etc. 

5. Never have anything to do with a horse who keeps his ears thrown 
backward. This is an invariable indication of bad temper. 

6. If the horse’s hind legs are scarred, the fact denotes that he is a kicker. 

7. If the knees are blemished, the horse is apt to stumble. 

8. When the skin is rough and harsh, and does not move easily and 
smoothly to the touch, the horse is a heavy eater, and digestion is bad. 

9. Avoid a horse whose respiratory organs are at all impaired. If the ear 
is placed to the heart and a wheezing sound is heard, it is an indication of 
trouble. 

Feed for tlie Horse. —One of the most sensible articles on the treatment 
of a horse is that which is given from a physiological standpoint by Colvin. 

It is the opinion of this authority that the horse’s stomach has a compacity 
of only about 16 quarts, while that of the ox has 250. In the intestines this 
proportion is reversed, the horse having a capacity of 190 quarts against 100 
of the ox. The ox, and most other animals, have a gall bladder for the re¬ 
tention of a part of the bile secreted during digestion; the horse has none, 
and the bile flows directly into the intestines as fast as secreted. This con¬ 
struction of the digestive apparatus indicates that the horse was formed to 
eat slowly and digest continually bulky and innutritious food. When fed on 
hay it passes very rapidly through the stomach into the intestines. The 



138 


THE FARM. 

horse can eat but about five pounds of hay in an hour, which is charged, 
during mastication, with four times its weight of saliva. Now, the stomach, 
to digest well, will contain but about ten quarts, and when the animal eats 
one-third of his daily ration, or seven pounds, in one and one-half hours, he 
has swallowed at least two stomachfuls of hay and saliva, one of these hav¬ 
ing passed to the intestines. Observation has shown that the food is passed 
to the intestines by the stomach in the order in which it is received. If we 
feed a horse six quarts of oats it will just fill his stomach, and if, as soon as 
he finishes this, we feed him the above ration of seven poxxnds of nay, he will 
cat sufficient in three-quarters of an hour to have forced the oats entirely out 
of his stomach into the intestines. As it is the office of the stomach to digest 
the nitrogenous parts of the feed, and as a stomachful of oats contains four 
or five times as much of these as the same amount of hay, it is certain that 
either the stomach must secrete the gastric juice five times as fast, which is 
hardly possible, or it must retain this food five times as long. By feeding 
the oats first, it can only be retained long enough for the proper digestion of 
hay, consequently it seems logical, when feeding a concentrated food like 
oats, with a bulky one like hay, to feed the latter first, giving the grain the 
whole time between the repasts to be digested. 

Feeding Horses. —Another authority writes as follows: The horse has 
the smallest stomach, in proportion to his size, of any animal. This space is 
completely filled by four quarts of oats and the saliva that goes into the 
stomach with it. Horses are generally overfed and not fed often enough. 
For a horse with moderate work six or eight quarts of bruised oats and ten 
pounds of fine hay are sufficient. This should be fed in three meals, and is 
better if fed in four. A horse’s digestion is very rapid, and therefore he gets 
hungry sooner than a man. AVhen he is hungry he is ineffective, and Avears 
out very rapidly. Water fills the stomach, lowers the temperature, and di¬ 
lutes the gastric juice; therefore a horse should not drink immediately be¬ 
fore eating. Neither should he bo watered immediately after eating, because 
he will drink too much and force some of the contents of the stomach into 
the large intestine, which will cause scorning. Scouring is also caused by 
too rapid eating, which can be prevented by putting half a dozen pebbles 
half the size of the fist into the manger Avith the oats. Give only a moderate 
drink of Avater to a horse. A large drink of Avater before being driven will 
have a very quieting effect on a nervous horse. A race horse ahvays runs 
on an empty stomach. Digestion progresses moderately during exercise, if 
the exercise is not so violent as to exhaust the poAver of the horse. I con¬ 
sider bruised oats Avorth twenty per cent, more than AA’hole. They are more 
perfectly digested. I prefer oats to any other grain for horses. Cracked 
corn is good under some circumstances, but I would not use meal or shorts. 
The disease called big head is caxised by feeding corn. When a horse comes 
in hot I Avould give a moderate feed immediately. If the horse is too tired 
to eat I would take the feed aAvay. A heated horse is a reason against Avater- 
ing and for feeding, for the system is just then in a condition to begin diges¬ 
tion. A horse Avill not founder if fed immediately when hot. I prefer dry 
feed, unless the horse has some disease of the throat and lungs. I do not 
consider it worth while to cut hay. I always feed hay from the floor, then 
the horses do not get particles in their eyes. 

Raising a, Colt—A colt is regarded as an incumbrance because he is 
u*eless until he arrives at a suitable age for work, but it really costs very 


139 


LIVE STOCK. 


little compared with his value, to raise a colt. When the period arrives at 
which the colt can do service, the balance sheet will show in its favor for 
young horses always command good prices if they are sound and well 
broken. One ot the difficulties in the way is the incumbrance placed on the 
dam, which interferes with her usefulness on the farm, especiallv if the colt 
is foaled during the early part of the spring. Some farmers have their colts 
toaled in the fall, but this is open to two objections. In the first place, spring 
is the natural time, for then the grass is beginning to grow, and nature seems 
to have provided that most animals should bring forth their young in a sea¬ 
son beyond the reach of severe cold, and with sufficient time to grow and be 
prepared for the following winter. 


Again, when a colt is foaled in the fall he must pass through a period of 
several months’ confinement in the stable, without exercise, or else be more 
or less chilled with cold from time to time. Should this happen, the effect 
of any bad treatment will be afterward manifested, and no amount of atten¬ 
tion can again elevate the colt to that degree of hardiness and soundness of 
body that naturally belongs to a spring colt. Besides, a colt foaled in the 
spring will outgrow one foaled in the fall. An objection to spring colts may 
be partially overcome by plowing in the fall, or keeping the brood mares for 
very light work, with the colts at liberty to accompany them always. A colt 
needs but very little feeding if the pasture is good and there is water run¬ 
ning through it. He needs then only a small feed of oats at night—no corn 
—and if he is given hay it is not necessary to give him a full ration. What 
he will consume from the barn null not be one-third his value when he is 
three years old, and if he is well bred the gain is greater. 

When a farmer raises his horses he knows their disposition, constitution 
and capacity. It is the proper way to get good, sound, serviceable horses 
on the farm. It should not be overlooked that a colt must be tenderly 
treated from birth, and must be fondled and handled as much as possible. 
He should never hear a harsh word, but should be taught to have confidence 
in everybody he sees or knows. This is an easy matter if his training begins 
from the time he is a day old. He can be thus gradually broken without 
difficulty, and will never be troublesome. No such thing as a whip should 
be allowed in a stable that contains a colt. Colts should not be worked until 
three years old, and then lightly at first, as they do not fully mature until 
they are six years old, and with some breeds of horses even later. Mares 
with foals at their side should be fed on the most nourishing food. 


To Bit a Colt. —The true way to bit a colt is not to bit him at all; that 
is, let him bit himself. When my colts are one year old, I begin to teach 
them to hold the bit in their mouth. The bit is of pine, some half-inch in 
diameter, and five inches in length. This piece of soft pine is held in the 
mouth by a cord tied to either end, and fastened on the head, back of the 
ears. The colt loves to have the bit in his mouth, because it enables him to 
bring forward the saliva process. He will bit, and work it over in his mouth, 
and enjoys it hugely. He will welcome it, and will actually reach out and 
open his mouth for it, as a trained horse will for a bit. After a few days, you 
can tie strings making miniature reins to this bit, and teach the colt the 
proper use of it. When this is done, he is ready for the regular steel bit. 
Put your bridle on with a leather bit, large and pliant; throw your check¬ 
line, if your bridle has one attached, into the pigsty; get into your wagon 
and drive off. This is all the “bitting” a colt needs. Treated in this way, 
he will have a lively, yielding, sensitive mouth. He will take the bit bravely 


140 


THE FA TIM. 



when working up to his speed, but yield readily to the driver’s will. A 
horse, bitted in this sensible way, can be driven a forty-clip with the lines # 

held in one hand, or be lifted 
over a tive-barred gate with 
the strength of a single wrist. 
If you do not believe it, try 
it and see. 

A Convenient- Horse¬ 
shoe. —Among the numerous 
horseshoes lately devised in 
this and other countries, that 
invention in England, by Mr. 
Joseph Offord, seems worthy 
of special notice. Its object 
is to fit the hoof with a mov¬ 
able but firm covering, which 
can be readily adjusted to 
fit every kind of work and 
road, so that, like its master, 
the horse may own several 
sets of shoes for different 
occasions. The device con¬ 
sists in having one or more 
perfectly wedge-shaped holes 
in the side and close to the 
edge of each shoe (Fig. 1), in 
which triangular cogs, or 
wedges, are inserted. These are fastened by the fangs being brought, with¬ 
out touching the hoof, to the outside of the shoe, over which they are 
clenched with a small hammer. The 
cogs do not penetrate the hoof, and 
there is no risk of hurting the horse. 

The holes being wedge-shaped, can¬ 
not fill up with stones or dirt, and 
the fangs being malleable, the wedges 
are easily removed or inserted at 
pleasure. It is necessary, however, 
to get the holes punched in the shoes 
before the horse is shod, and for the 
coachman to be provided with a sup¬ 
ply of these patent cogs to insure 
safety on any road in frost or on 
wood. 

As many are accustomed to use a 
cog which screws into the shoe, Mr. 

Offord has prepared a steel wedge- 
shaped one (Fig. 2) for this purpose. 

The screw cogs are, of course, more 
expensive. In using them the shoe 
has to be drilled and tapped with 
one or more holes before the horse is shod, 
holes when needed, or removed at pleasure by means of a wrench provided 


HORSESHOE.—FIG. 1. 


HORSESHOE.—FIG. 2. 

The cogs are inserted iuto these 







LIVE STOCK. 


141 


for this purpose. We give two illustrations, reproduced from the Agricul¬ 
tural Gazette, showing both these methods, with the punch, wrench, and 
cogs, both cf which have stood the test of many years’ experience, and have 
given great satisfaction. 

To Break Horses from Pulling at the Halter— Two methods of 
breaking a horse of this habit are here illustrated, as follows: 


TO BREAK HORSES FROM PULLING AT THE HALTER.—FIG. 1. 


Fig. 1.—Get a strong half-inch cord twenty-two feet in length; put the 
center under the tail like a crupper; twist them a few times as you bring 


them forward over the back; pass for¬ 
ward on each side of the body, the 
pass them forward through the halter 
below the jaw. Tie firmly to a tree, 
post, or stall, and excite the animal by 
any means that will cause him to pull, 
until the habit is overcome. You may 
even whip across the nose keenly until 
there is perfect submission, which will 
not require long. Hitch in this way 
for a few days, or so long as there is 
is any predisposition to pull on the 
halter. 

Fig. 2.—This contrivance consists 
of an ordinary ring halter, with the 
two sido rings connected by a strong, 
flexible cord. Whenever the horse 
pulls, the inner part of the cord is 
drawn forcibly against his jaw, and 
the effect is a severer punishment than 
he is willing to endure. 



TO BREAK A HORSE FROM PULLING 
AT A HALTER.—FIG. 2. 


Warts on Horses. —A correspon¬ 
dent of an English agricultural journal writes: “ Inquiries are made for a 
cure for warts on horses, mules, and cattle. Many remedies are prescribed 














142 


THE FA It M. 


—many barbarous and cruel to the animal. I will give you a remedy often 
tried, and never known to fail. Anoint the wart three times with clean, 
fresh hog’s lard, about two days between times. I have had warts on my 
horses—bleeding warts, of large size, rattling warts and seed warts, to the 
number of more than one hundred on one horse’s head. I have never been 
able to find the warts for the third application of the lard. All disappear 
after the second application. I have sent this prescription to several agri¬ 
cultural papers, hoping it would be of some use to farmers. But they all 
seem slow to believe, perhaps, because the remedy is at hand and costs no¬ 
thing. I own I was slow to believe myself; but, having a fine young mare 
with large bleeding warts, that covered parts of the bridle and girths with 
blood whenever used, I thought there would be no harm in trying lard on 
them. When the mare was got up for the third application, there were no 
warts, and the scars are there now, after more than fifteen years, Avitli very 
little change. I may say that for cuts, bruises, galls, etc., the application of 
fresh lard—either for man or beast—is Avorth more than any patent liniment 
in use. It will remove pain instantly, and does not irritate raw flesh, as all 
liniments do. 

Stumbling Horses. —The Pittsburg Stockman says: “ Some good horses 
are addicted to stumbling while walking or moving in a slow trot. A well- 
versed veterinarian states that there are two causes that would tend to pro¬ 
duce this faulty action; one a general weakness in the muscular system, 
such as would be noticed in a tired horse; the other a weakness of the ex¬ 
terior muscles of the leg, brought about by carrying too much Aveight on the 
toe. To effect a cure, he adds, lighten the weight of each front shoe about 
four ounces; have the toe of the shoe made of steel instead of iron, it Avill 
Avear longer, have it rounded off about the same as it would be when one- 
third Avorn out, in order to prevent tripping, allow one week’s rest; have the 
legs shoAvered for a few minutes at a time with cold water through a hose, 
in order to create a spray; then rub dry briskly, from the chest down to the 
foot. Give Avalking exercise daily this week, for about an hour, tAvice a day. 
When you commence driving again omit the slow jog—either Avalk or send 
him along at a sharp trot for a mile or two, then walk away, but do not 
speed for at least several weeks. By this means the habit of stumbling 
from either of the above causes Avill be pretty well overcome. 

Cure for Balky Horse. —Hermann Koon, my German neighbor, writes 
a correspondent of the Prairie Farmer, is as patient a man as belongs to 
that patient race. Coming along the road a month or so ago, I saAv Her¬ 
mann lying in a fence corner, under the shade of an elm, quietly smoking 
his pipe. A quarter of a mile or so beyond I saw Hermann’s horse and 
buggy by the roadside, the horse evidently tied to a post. This Avas a queer 
condition of affairs, for my neighbor is one of the most industrious men I 
know. My curiosity Avas aroused, and I stopped for an explanation. In 
broken English he told me his horse, a recent purchase, had proved balky, 
had stopped near where he now stood and no amount of coaxing could in¬ 
duce him to go on. Hermann did not curse the animal, he did not lash it 
with his Avhip, beat it with a club, build a fire under its belly, nor resort to 
any other of the brutal means some men use in such cases. He quietly got 
out of the buggy, tied the horse to the post, and walked off. Hermann had 
been taking it easy under the tree for three long hours. He thought the horse 
would be glad to go noAv if requested to do so. It had once before stopped 


LIVE STOCK. 


143 


with liiiu, and after a patient waiting alone, for an hour, it went on all right. 
He expected about four hours, this time, would effect a permanent cure of 
the bad habit. I went on about my business, leaving the stolid German to 
his pipe and his thoughts. To-day I met him again. He said the horse was 
eager to start when he went back to the buggy, and though he has used it 
every day since, no disposition to balk has been manifested. He believes 
there will be no repetition of the offense. Most men think they cannot afford 
to waste time in this way, perhaps, but if the horse is cured he is a valuable 
one, whereas, if it had become a chronic balker, through cruel management, 
it would be Avorthless. Hermann thought he could not make money faster 
than by saving the reputation of his horse. It is a new system, but Hermann 
says it will work well every time, if the horse is not naturally vicious. It 
looks reasonable to me, and if my nag ever tries the stop game with me, and 
I can command patience sufficient, I will try his plan. 



Kicking Horses.—We present herewith a method that will be found 
available in all cases of kicking by horses. The beast should have a good 
pair of bits in his mouth, to 
which should be attached a 
strap or rope sufficiently long 
to reach back between and 
behind the fore legs about 
eight inches, and should pass 
through the girt or surcingle. 

A loop should be made in 
this, the back end of the rope 
or strap, about two inches or 
more in length. Now take a 
rope about seven or eight feet 
long. (The length of the rope 
will depend upon the size of 
the horse; the rope should be 
long enough to allow of a 
free use of the horse’s hind 
legs in traveling.) Pass one 
end of the rope round the leg, upon the inside, so the fastening shall come 
upon the outside, to prevent interfering, and bring it round upon the outside 
of the leg, and pass the end over and around the middle of the rope and wind 
it round the rope upon the outside of the leg, as illustrated. Draw the noose 
up round the pastern—i. e., between the fetlock and hoof—and pass the 
unfastened end of the rope through the loop in the rope or strap which passes 
through the surcingle, and fasten the end round the other leg, as was done 
the first time in fastening. This mode of fastening is simple, is easily done 
and undone, and will not work off, provided the noose is drawn up tightly 
around the pastern. If you have a horse that is addicted to the unpleasant hab¬ 
it of kicking, try this experiment, and you will find that it works admirably. 


HOW TO PREVENT HORSES FROM KICKING. 


Training Vicious Horses.—A new and very simple method of training 
vicious horses was exhibited in West Philadelphia, and the manner in which 
some of the wildest horses were subdued was astonishing. The first trial 
was that of a kicking or “ bucking ” mare, which her owner said had allowed 
no rider on her back for a period of at least five years. She became tame in 
about as many minutes, and allowed herself to be ridden about without a 



















144 


THE FARM 


sign of her former wildness. The means by which the result was accom¬ 
plished was a piece of light rope which was passed around the front jaw of 
ithe mare just above the upper teeth, crossed in her mouth, and thence 
secured hack of her neck. It was claimed that no horse will kick or jump 
when thus secured, and that a horse, after receiving the treatment a few 
minutes, will abandon his vicious ways forever. A very simple method was 
also shown by which a kicking horse could be shod. It consisted in connect¬ 
ing the animal’s head and tail by means of a rope fastened to the tail and 
then to the bit, and then drawn tightly enough to incline the animal’s head 
to one side. This, it is claimed, makes it absolutely impossible for the horse 
to kick on the side of the rope. At the same exhibition a horse which for 
many years had to be bound on the ground to be shod suffered the black¬ 
smith to operate on him without attempting to kick while secured in the 
manner described. 


(tails and Sores on Horses.— If the owner of the horses, the farmer 



ONE CAUSE OF HIDE-BOUND. 


himself, could always be among his work animals, thev would receive more 
attention and better treatment; but as he has so much to think about and 
ook after, lie cannot give this department his careful supervision, and manv 
errors creep into the management which could not otherwise be found there, 
lhere are some horses which chafe more readily than others, while some do 
not have the collars and harness fit them, which will invariably cause galls 
01 801 es, and e'ven when the harness does fit properly, the warm weather, or 
giving the horse a hard, warm day’s work, may cause shoulder or saddle 
galls to appear, which will soon become larger and bad sores, if not 
promptly attended to. Bathing the shoulders, with spring or well water 
hardens them, and decreases the tendency toward galling. When galls ap¬ 
pear wash the affected parts with good white castile soap (only use the beet 
castile and none other), and warm water to cleanse them. After the parts 














































LIVE STOCK. 


145 


have been dried with a soft cloth or rag or sponge, anoint the parts with a 
mixture of pure glycerine in which a little carbolic acid has been mixed. Do 
this at night after work. In the morn cleanse well again, as above, and put 
on some pulverized alum if you work the horse regularly. Continue this 
course until the sores are perfectly healed up. 

Working Mares in Foal. —It is quite common to see or hear inquiries 
as.to how near tho time of foaling, a mare may be worked without injury to 
her or the colt, on the supposition that it is necessary for her to go idle for a 
month or two before. 

This is not the case; and in the hands of a careful man she may be kept 
at such work as plowing, harrowing, or cultivating without the least danger, 
until she is ready to foal. Of course, fast driving or working to a heavy 
wagon tongue, on rough or muddy roads, or where heavy backing is to be 
done, should not be allowed. The writer has always worked mares moder¬ 
ately on the farm, when necessary, until it was evident they were likely to 
foal within a few hours, and has known of their foaling in harness, en route 
from the plow to the barn, but never with any bad results. While we think 
it more humane to let a mare have a few days’ liberty before this trying 
event, there seems to be little necessity for losing the work of a strong mare 
for any great length of time before foaling, and we lvould prefer to allow the 
extra holidays afterward. Ordinarily, she will do first-rate work with a ten 
days’ vacation, provided that she is not put immediately to work that is too 
severe, and fed partly with something else than corn. 

Kicking in tlie Stall. —The habit of kicking in the stable arises from 
idleness. Regular day work is the best remedy, but when that is not suffi¬ 
cient, a branch or two of some prickly shrub, nailed to the posts, will often 
stop the habit, care being taken to arrange it so as not to prevent the animal 
from lying down and obtaining needed rest. Mares are supposed to be 
much more subject to this vice than geldings or stallions; but so far as our 
personal experience goes, there is little difference. A broad leather strap, 
to which is tied a small wooden log, are commonly applied to one or both 
legs, but they are not always sufficient. A heavier weight than two pounds 
should not be used, for if a horse is frightened by it, he may kick worse and 
do himself injury. When, however, he is well used to a wooden log, and 
has got over his first alarm, a heayier one may be put on if required. The 
strap, which should be broad, is buckled around the leg above the fetlock, 
and the weight suspended from it, which should not reach farther down than 
an inch and a half above the coronet, as the coronet would inflame to a mis¬ 
chievous extent if bruised. Sometimes a weight is required for each leg, if 
the animal kicks at both stall posts. Occasionally, when all other remedies 
fail, the practice will cease when the animal be turned loose in a roomy box 
stall. 

Reining Horses.—The habit of reining in horses very tightly finds less 
favor with many persons than it did. It is not easy to see in what way the 
habit originated. If a man has a load of anything to pull, he wishes to get 
his head as far forward as possible to pull with ease. But the horse is de¬ 
nied this. His head is reined back tightly, thereby making it much harder 
for him to pull the load. To our view, a horse looks better, and wo know 
he feels better, when pursuing a natural, leisurely, swinging gait. It is as 
necessary for his head to oscillate in response to the motions of his body, as 
it is for a man’s hands to do the same thing. A horse allowed his 


14(5 


Pit A fa nti. 


bead will work easier and last longer than one on which a check is used. 
Blinds are another popular absurdity in the use of horses. They collect 
dust, pound the eye, and are in every way a nuisance. A horse that cannot 
be driven with safety without them should be sold to a railroad grader. No 
colt should be broken to them. Animals fear noises they cannot see the 
cause of much more than those they can. We would dispense with tight 
reining and with blinds. 

Colic in Horses.—This disease is caused by indigestion, over-feeding, 
or by giving cold water in large quantities, or by eating sour grain. If colic 
occurs from eating sour grain, one of the best remedies is a few lumps of 
charcoal. Pulverize it fine and pour on it about a quart of boiling water. 
When cool, strain off and give. If the above does not give relief, stimulants 
should be given, Avith a view to arouse the stomach and get relief from the 
fermented food which it contains. Purges are of no sort of use for the pur¬ 
pose of relieving an overloaded stomach, and therefore if inflammation is 
present, their use is positively injurious. The use of saleratus and turpen¬ 
tine, which is so popular an agent with horsemen, are not always the proper 
remedies. To make use of the former, being an anti-acid it is supposed to 
combine with the free acid in the digestive organs, and thus neutralize it, 
but if its use is persisted in, it will injure the mucous membrane of the 
stomach. Turpentine is a powerful irritant, and it should never be made 
use of except by those who understand its action, and neutralize it by mix¬ 
ing it with linseed oil. The following has been used with good results, and 
can be recommended as safe and efficacious: Sulphuric ether, 1 1-2 ounces; 
oil of pepperment, 2 ounces; water, 1G ounces. Mix and shake well before 
giving. If not relieved, give again in half an hour, and an injection com¬ 
posed of soap suds to be thrown into the rectum. 

Dr. N. Rowe, of Chicago, gives the following as the best simple remedy 
for colic in a horse: If it is ordinary colic, or gripes without flatulence, give 
him a dose of whisky, say from two to four ounces, that being generally 
handy; or a strong dose of peppermint or spearmint tea, hot; but if a drug 
store is near, give from one to two ounces each of laudanum and spirits of 
nitre; repeat the dose in half an hour if necessary. If it is flatulent colic, 
the horse bloated with gas, give a teaspoonful of saleratus in half a pint of 
warm water, repeat it in ten minutes; if this does no good, give an ounce of 
turpentine in half a pint of linseed oil; or you may give half an ounce of 
chloral hydrate in half a pint of cold water. In addition to the above direc¬ 
tions, in all cases givo warm water injections, and let the horse remain quiet, 
allowing him to roll if he wants, to give friction to the belly, and give soft 
feed and rest afterward for a day or two. 

The Massachusetts Ploughman recommends salt, and as this is known 
among housekeeepers as useful in colic, we give what the writer says: 
“Spread a teacupful of salt upon the back of the animal over the kidneys 
and loins, and keep it saturated from twenty to thirty minutes, or longer if 
necessary. If the attack is severe, drench with salt water. I have a valua¬ 
ble bull, weighing nineteen or twenty hundred pounds, which had a severe 
attack of colic a year ago last summer. I applied salt to his back as above, 
and it being difficult to drench, we put a wooden bit into his mouth, keeping 
it open about two inches, and spread salt upon his tongue, which, together 
with the salt upon his back, relieved him at once, and within a very short 
time equilibrium appeared fully restored. I have for several yeai*s past 
successfully applied this treatment to other animals in my herd.” 


LIVE STOCK. Ui 

An officer who commanded artillery during the iate waf used the follow¬ 
ing simple remedy for colic in horses, which he has tried With perfect suc¬ 
cess in hundreds of cases: Rub the horse well between the fore legs and 
around the girth with spirits of turpentine. Immediately relief follows. 

Another remedy is the following: Take some good home-made soap, and 
make about half a gallon of warm soap suds; then take a quart bottle, fill it, 
and drench the horse. Sometimes as much as a half-gallon may be needed. 

The bot larvae are liable to be found domiciled in the horse at any 
and ai all times. It only does noticeable damage when the number accumu¬ 
lates ill the passages, or when there is some disturbance in the digestion of 
the horse, when, it is said, it cuts through the membrane of the stomach, 
cailsing death to ensue. The bot-fly lays its eggs in the hair of the horse, 
About the flanks and front legs, where they get to the tongue, and from 
thenco are swallowed and hatch in the stomach. They live a certain period 
of timo and are discharged, to become flies again. Several doses are recom¬ 
mended to be given to dislodge the grub, but when it is doing no perceptible 
harm many horsemen prefer to let it alone rather than medicate the horse. 
Rut some remove them by giving powdered aloes, asafoetida, each one- 
fourth ounce; mix in hot water, and when cold add oil of turpentine, sul¬ 
phuric ether, each one ounce. Give in linseed tea as a drench. 

Another authority says: Botsin horses may be known by the animals oc¬ 
casionally nipping at their sides, and also by red pimples rising on the inner 
surface of the upper lip, which may be plainly seen by turning the lip up. 
The cure is effected by taking two quarts new milk, one quart of molasses, 
and giving the horse the whole amount. In fifteen minutes afterward givo 
two quarts warm sage tea; thirty minutes after give one pint of currier’s oil, 
or enough to operate as physic. The cure will be complete, as the milk and 
molasses cause the hots to let go, the tea puckers them up, and the oil car¬ 
ries them entirely away. 

Another remedy is as follows: Give the animal one quart of sage tea, in 
which a large teaspoonful of soda or saleratus is dissolved. If not relieved 
in one hour, repeat the dose, and repeat hourly until relief is obtained. 

Founder. —Founder consists of inflammation of the laminae, or leaves of 
the hoof—the most sensitive portions of the foot, which serve to connect the 
interior part to the outer protecting covering of horn. It may be very severe 
and acute, or a simple stiffness of the limbs and muscles. In this case two 
drams of lobelia |may be given, and the limbs bathed with hot water and 
rubbed with liniment or kerosene oil. This may be continued for three or 
four days. Warm blanketing, with hot fomentations, will be useful. When 
the horse suffers very much, and the feet are hot and painful, a pound of 
salts should be given, followed by twenty-drop doses of tincture of aconite; 
the feet enveloped in large poultices of bran, or even sawdust, steeped in hot 
water, and the legs bathed in hot water and wrapped up. A deep, soft bed 
should be given, and the horse induced to lie down. After the worst symp¬ 
toms are over the hoof and sole should be rasped down and the feet kept in 
a puddle of clay and water. The shoes should be removed. 

The following remedy, says an experienced farmer, of Texas, is a sure 
cure for founder, viz: “A large tablespoonful of pulverized alum and a 
tablcspoonful of pulverized saltpetre mixed. Moisten the doso and admin¬ 
ister it by pulling out the tongue and placing the spoon as far back in the 
mouth as possible.” 


148 


THE FARM. 


Heaves. —If you want to have no trouble with heaves in your horses be 
sure that they are fed no dusty and duty hay, Avhich is the prolific source of 
this annoyance. Ordinary clean hay can always be fed with safety if prop¬ 
erly cut up, moistened, and mixed with ground grain; but to feed the musty 
or dirty sorts is very injurious. Clover, owing to its liability to crumble, 
often gets dirty, even after storage, and should never be fed without being 
previously moistened. 

Very bad cases of heaves have been cured by simply feeding the animal 
upon cut and moistened feed, of very good quality and in small quantities, 
three times a day. For instance, four pounds of timothy hay and three quarts 
offeedmadeof equal quantities of oats, corn, and wheat bran ground to¬ 
gether. With this w r as mixed a small quantity of salt, and twice a week one 
dram of sulphate of iron and half an ounce of ground gentian root were given 
in the feed. A liberal bran mash every evening will also be very useful. A 
horse that cannot be cured by this treatment is of no value, and may be con¬ 
sidered past cure. 

The following is recommended by an agricultural authority: One dram 
of tincture of aromatic sulphuric acid in a pint of water night and morning, 
allowing the animal to drink from a bucket. The horse should also receive 
in his food, night and morning, equal parts of powdered ginger, gentian, 
sulphur, cream of tartar, charcoal, licorice, elecampane, caraway seed and 
balm of Gilead buds (chopped fine), the dose to be an ounce. Be careful 
and not overfeed the animal. 

Still another remedy is the following: Asafoetida, pulverized, one ounce; 
camphor gum, pulverized, one-half ounce; mix and divide into four powders; 
feed one every other night for a week. 

Epizootic in Horses. —The disease known as “ the epizootic ” is a com¬ 
mon one, but is rarely so general as to be justly entitled to that distinction. 
It is simply a catarrhal affection of the bronchial tubes, the lining of the air- 
passages of the lungs, and the nasal sinuses, in fact, what may be called a 
very bad cold, with some fever. It is treated by a saline purgative, as 8 to 
12 oz. of Epsom salts, and afterwards half an ounce of saltpetre daily, with 
warm drinks, general good nursing, and frequent rubbing of the limbs and 
body to excite the circulation. 

Shying Horses. —A horseman whose horse is given to shying, ought 
never to permit himself to evince symptoms of nervousness nor punish the 
animal for exhibitions of timidity. Whenever a horse directs the points of 
his ears in a certain direction, as though distrustful or afraid, the reins 
should be pulled in another direction, thus diverting the attention of the 
animal from the object causing the perturbation. If, on the other hand, 
force or harsh means are used to compel an acquaintance with the object 
feared the horse will be doubly excited, if not unmanageable. We have 
found, in cases of shying or halting at real or fancied objects of disquiet, that 
stopping the horse and using soothing language, answ'ers a very good pur¬ 
pose. If the object is stationary, the horse, after a short time, will most 
usually advar.ce in the direction of it, approaching cautiously till satisfied 
no danger is to bo apprehended, when he will resume his way in a quiet 
mood. But if chastised for shying, he will have twm objects of fear instead 
of one, and become more confirmed in the habit of distrustfulness. 

Best Material for Stable Floors —A Western writer says: “ I have 
used plank, macadam, cinders and coal-tar mixed, and clay pounded hard 


149 


LIVE STOCK . 

for stable floor, but the best material for the purpose, and which gives me 
the most satisfaction, especially on the score of cleanliness, is good, hard 
biick, laid edgeways, with an inclination of about one-quarter of an inch to 
the foot; the more level the floor is, the easier it is for the horse. Many a 
hoise has been ruined by standing on a stable floor with too much inclina¬ 
tion. Persons making stable floors should study the comfort of their ani¬ 
mals. . Another great advantage of brick is, that it is always moist, which is 
an object to be taken into account, as the hoof never becomes dry, conse¬ 
quently there is no danger of contraction, providing the shoer leaves the frog 
alone, which should not be cut, not even the ragged edges of it. I have used 
the brick floor for the last three or four years, and am well satisfied that 
there is nothing better. 

Scratches on Horses. —A veterinary authority says he has never known 
a failure of carrot poultice for scratches on horses, and he gives the following 
directions, probably valuable, as carrot has an excellent etfect on many un¬ 
healthy sores: Wash the sores thoroughly with warm, soft water and castilo 
soap, then rinse them off with clear water, after which rub dry with a cloth. 
Now grate some carrots (about a pint after grated) and bind them on the 
sores. The best way to bind it on is to take a cloth and Wrap it around the 
sores, letting the lower edge come close down to the hoof;' then tie a cord 
around this lower end, after which put the grated carrot into the opening at 
the top of the cloth, press it down around the sores, then tie another cord 
around the top of the cloth, a little above the fetlock. This should be re¬ 
peated every day for four or five days, when the scratches will be cured. 

Ringbones on Colts.—For ringbones on colts, first pay attention t® 
shoeing. If he walks on the toe, have a high heel to the shoes; but if he 
strikes the heel first, let it be thin and the toe high. If there is inflamma¬ 
tion, reduce it by rest and water bandages. Then blister with the following: 
Powdered cantharides, Venice turpentine, and rosin, each two ounces; lard, 
two pounds. Melt the last three together, and when not too hot stir in the 
cantharides. When the pustules appear, omit for a few days. Then apply 
again and alternate for three or four times. Bemember that in all diseases 
or troubles of this kind there will be more or less fever, and attention should 
be given to the general health of the animal, even when no particular symp¬ 
toms of illness are seen 

Cure for Spavin and Ringbone. —Venice turpentine and Spanish flies, 
of each, two ounces; euphorbium and aqua ammonia, of each, one ounce; 
red precipitate, one half ounce; lard, one and a half pounds. Pulverize all, 
and put into tho lard; simmer slowly over coals, not scorching or burning, 
and pour off, free of sediment. For ringbones, cut off the hair, and rub the 
ointment well into the lumps once in forty-eight hours. For spavins, once 
in twenty-four hours for three mornings. Wash well previous to each appli¬ 
cation with suds, rubbing over the place with a smooth stick, to squeeze out 
a thick, yellow matter. This has removed very largo ringbones. 

Treatment of Sick Horses. —The practice of forcing a horse to stand on 
his legs, or walk about, while laboring under an attack of colic, is most in¬ 
human. The same remark is also applicable to tho plan of exercising a 
horse during tho time he is under the purgative action of a dose of physic. 
He should be moved gently about before the medicine commences to operate, 
but never after, Do those barbarians who knock the animal about while 


150 


THE FARM. 


enduring tlie pains of colic or when suffering the purgative action of medi¬ 
cine, ever think of what they are doing ? If they were treated themselves on 
the same plan under similar circumstances, they would soon come to their 
senses regarding the management of the unfortunate animal which is placed 
under their charge. 

A Muzzle for Biting Horses— This dangerous habit is taught the 
horses by thoughtless owners or drivers by playing with them when colts, or 
teasing them when full grown. A sharp cut with a whip across the horse’s 
nose when he bites may serve to break him from the habit; hut when the. 
case is worse and incurable, a muzzle for this purpose may bo made of; 
strips of light hoop iron or of leather. A band may be made to encircle the 
muzzle to which strips of leather or iron are fastened. At the bottom of the^ 
muzzle a round piece of leather should be fastened by rivets to keep the 
strips in their place. 

How to Save Oats in Feeding. —A saving may be effected in the con¬ 
sumption of oats for horses by simply soaking them in tepid water. Practi¬ 
cal experiments which have been made show that by this method the ration 
for each animal may be reduced by a third. Horses whose teeth have seen 
their best days masticate the grain in its ordinary condition insufficiently, 
and younger animals often eat so greedily that the greater proportion of it is 
swallowed whole. This waste maybe obviated by the simple method recom¬ 
mended, which so far softens the grain that it is more completely masticated 
and digested, and consequently yields more nutriment. Three hours is a 
sufficient length of time to soak the grain, provided the water is not too 
cold. 

How Blindness is Produced. —It is said that dark stables tend to pro¬ 
duce blindness in animals. A veterinary surgeon says: “ Darkness produces 
blindness, because nature is outraged in the fact that the sight of the eyes is 
destroyed by want of light to present objects properly to the vision, and 
thus, by continued inactivity, producing blindness. Even so is blindness, or 
imperfect vision, produced by an over-action of light upon the retina of the 
eye, as is always the case when light is admitted by a window directly in 
front of the horse. Nothing is worse than this light, so admitted. Nature is 
outraged, and as a penalty we have nervous, fretful horses, shyers, crib- 
bers, balkers, runaways, and anything but a reliable and pleasant horse.” 

Care of Horses’ Begs. —Few men who handle horses give proper 
attention to the feet and legs. Especially is this the case with the farmer. 
Much time is often spent in rubbing, brushing and smoothing the hair on the 
sides and hips, but the feet are not properly cared for. The feet of a horse 
require ten times as much, for in one respect they are almost the entire 
horse. All the grooming that can be done won’t avail anything if the horse 
is forced to stand where his feet are filthy, for his feet will become disordered 
and then the legs will get badly out of fix, and with bad legs and feet there 
is not much hope for anything. In short, to those owning horses we would 
say attend to the feet and legs. 

How to Tell a. Horse’s Age —The editor of the Southern Planter says: 
The other day we met a gentleman from Alabama, who have us a piece of 
information as to ascertaining the age of a horse after it has passed the 
ninth year, which was quite new to us, and will be, we are sure, to most of 
our readers. It is this; After the horse is nine years old, a wrinkle comes in 


LIVE STOCK. 


151 


tlic eyelid, at the upper corner of the lower lid, and every year thereafter he 
has one well-defined wrinkle for each year of his age over nine. If, for in¬ 
stance, a horse has three wrinkles, he is twelve; if four, thirteen. Add the 
number of wrinkles to nine, and you will always get at it. So says the gen¬ 
tleman; and he is confident it will never fail. 

Sawdust for Stables.—Nothing makes so soft and easy a bed for our 
“ dumb animals ” as sawdust, more particularly the horse, as it is natural, 
before lying down, either by pawing or stepping back and forward, to brush 
all their bedding, if straw is used, under their hind feet, but would be less 
liable to move the sawdust. As regards injury to horses’ feet or lungs on 
account of inhaling the dry dust, we know of a stable where horses are let, 
and I was informed by the owner that he had used sawdust for twelve 
years and never had been able to discover any bad effects from the use of it, 
and pointed out several horses that had been thus bedded for ten or twelve 
years; and had sold the manure at the usual rates, and never had heard of 
any objections on account of the sawdust. 

Tile Watering of Horses —M. P. Cartledge, member of the Royal 
College of Veterinary Surgeons, urges the great necessity of allowing an un¬ 
limited supply of water to horses; and he alludes to the very mistaken 
notion among grooms and others having the control of horses that water 
ad libitum is injurious. While grooms and others drink without stint them¬ 
selves, they profess to know when a horse has drank sufficient, and so take 
away the pail before his natural wants are half satisfied. Horses will not 
drink to excess if watered frequently, and in their case drinking does no 
harm. 

Cribbing. —Cribbing is a vice which springs from habit more than any 
other cause. It begins frequently from a desire to ease the teeth from in¬ 
convenience or perhaps pain, at that period when the dentition is perfecting, 
and then becomes fixed upon the horse as a vice. It is not injurious except 
when accompanied with “ wind sucking,” which is a series of deep inspira¬ 
tions by which flatulence and belly-ache are caused. When the habit is fixed 
on a horse it is difficult to break it, and the only effective method is to use a 
muzzle which prevents him from thus using his teeth. 

Linseed Oil for Horses.—Linseed oil is not only a valuable restorative 
for sick horses, but is exceedingly useful in cases of inflammation of the 
membranes, peculiar to the organs of respiration and digestion; it shields 
and lubricates the same, tranquilizes the irritable state of the parts, and 
favors healthy action. Put a couple of handfuls of seed into a bucket and 
pour a gallon and a half of boiling water upon it; cover it up a short time, 
then add a couple of quarts of cold water, when it will be fit for use. In case 
of an irritating cough add some honey. 

Windgalls or Puffs. —Windgalls are puffy swellings occurring along 
the tendons of the legs of horses, below the knee. They are the results of 
sprains or strains of the tendons, and are generally filled with synovial fluid, 
or lymph, or serum. A padded bandage, with astringent lotions applied two 
hours a day at first, adding two hours every day after, until it is kept on 
continually, is the usual remedy. Rest from work is helpful to a cure. 

Brittle Feet. —Some horses have such bi’ittle feet that it is difficult to 
keep their shoes on. This is often caused by a sudden change from excee- 


152 


THE FARM. 


Hive and long-continued wetness to extreme dryness. The best treatment is 
to rub the soles and shells of the feet with a mixture composed of the fol¬ 
lowing: Tar, two parts; beef suet, two parts; whale oil, four parts; beeswax 
and honey, one part each; melt over a slow fire, and mix well. 

ignorance in Shoeing. —Some blacksmiths who shoe horses do not 
know that the frog of the foot should be allowed to come to the ground; that 
it should not be pared down, as is frequently done, nor should it be touched 
when healthy. It is meant to pound upon the ground, and it is the pound¬ 
ing that it gets that is the life of the foot, and those horse-shoers who have 
not yet learned this very important fact ought to learn it or quit business. 
Most of the diseases and defects of horses’ feet come from cutting away the 
frog or by raising it by high shoes clear away from the ground. 

Avoiding Indigestion in Horses. —It is best to give a horse water be¬ 
fore giving oats. The water stays in the stomach a very short time, but is 
quickly absorbed or passed into the bowels, where it is absorbed and goes 
into the blood. The horse secretes a very large quantity—more than four 
quarts—of saliva while eating a meal, which is sufficient to reduce the food 
to a pulp suitable for its digestion. So that to give water soon after eating, 
except in very small quantity, would be apt to cause indigestion and waste 
of the food by excessive dilution. 

Flies and Horses. —A physician writing to the London Daily News 
recommends, to prevent the torment inflicted by the flies on horses, applica¬ 
tion to the latter, before harnessing, of a mixture of one part crude carbolic 
acid with six or more parts of olive oil. This should be rubbed lightly all 
over the animal with a rag, and applied more thickly to the interior of the 
ears and other parts most likely to be attacked. 

To Cool Horses When Hot. —There is danger of congestion when cold 
water is thrown on the body of a horse when very hot and tired; and yet, 
how many do it ? The better way is to throw water freely on the fore legs 
of the animal. This corresponds to the well-known custom of persons, when 
overheated, bathing the wrists for some time before drinking much. 

To Recruit a Hide-Bound Ilorse—To recruit a hide bound horse, give 
nitrate potassa (or saltpetre), four ounces; crude antimony, one ounce; 
sulphur, three ounces. Nitrate of potassa and antimony should be finely 
pulverized, then add the sulphur, and mix the whole well together. Bose, 
a tablespoonfui of the mixture in a bran mash daily. 

Sprains and Bruises in Horses —Dissolve an ounce of camphor in 
eight ounces of spirits of wine; then add one ounce of spirits of turpentine, 
one ounce of spirits of sal ammonia, half an ounce of oil of origanum and a 
tablespoonful of laudanum. Rub in a quarter of an hour with the hand, four 
times a day. 

Flies in Horse Stables. —It is said that kerosene oil slightly sprinkled 
on the floor of the horse stables will serve to abate the nuisance of flies. It 
may be shaken out of a bottle through a hole in the cork. A pint will last a 
week for the purpose. 

Hemlooli Cribs. —A horse will not bite a crib made of hemlock lumber, 
nor will rats, mice, or other vermin gnaw through it. 


LIVE STOCK. 


153 


Worms in Horses. —Worms in horses are caused by hard work, poor 
food, and general neglect. For ordinary cases of worms, common salt, nu¬ 
tritious food, and pure water will prove satisfactory. Salt should always be 
kept in the stalls of horses. 

Over-Reaching. —An over-reaching horse, one whose hind feet is fre¬ 
quently hitting the forward shoes, should wear heavy shoes forward and 
light ones behind. The theory is that the heavier hoof will be thrown a little 
farther ahead than the lighter one. 

Worms in the Rectum— When a horse is affected with worms in the 
rectum there should be injected in the rectum, once daily for a week, a 
mixture of one pint of linseed oil and two drams of oil of turpentine. Feed 
at the same time bran mashes and oil meal. 

Sensitive Jaws. —Some horses are more sensitive than others in the 
upper jaw, and will not go up on the steel bar or snaffle upper-jaw bit. In 
such cases have a bit made of plain round leather, the usual size of the 
upper-jaw bit. 

Best Method of Cleaning Horses— The best thing to clean a horse 
with is a corn-cob scrubbing-brush. It never can scratch his legs, as the 
curry-comb of tin does, while it does more work in the same time than curry¬ 
comb and brush put together. 

Hints to Breeders of Shorthorns— To learn a trade, is to do things 
precisely upon the same principles, and up to the same general standard 
that experts in the same trade attain to. The principles are simple, though 
the parts are complicated. So of Shorthorn cattle. They are merely ma¬ 
chines for converting crude grain or grass into bone, muscle, adipose mat¬ 
ter, and hair; and the whole secret of excellence—the superiority of ono 
beast over another—consists in their ability to convert the most crude food 
in a given time into the finest quality of the tissues named, so distributing 
these as to give us a roomy frame of bone in the parts where we want room 
for the vital organs and for the choicest cuts, and thick, fleshy, well-marbled 
roasts, and broad, well-marbled steaks, in the parts where best fiber is pro¬ 
duced. Such a conformation should be secured as will answer these ends so 
effectively as the engine is expected to generate steam through the consump¬ 
tion of fuel in the furnace. The conformation of the trunk of the cow is a 
subject worthy of very careful study. The bony frame is of secondary im¬ 
portance, the vital organs within being of the first importance, and the size 
and vigor of these, if accompanied by a liberal distribution of cellular tissue 
throughout the system, ensures a rapid conversion of food into nutritive 
particles and the disposition of these in the various tissues. Large lungs, and 
large heart, stomach and liver give size and rotundity to the trunk and width 
to the bosom. A large stomach is of the utmost importance, because fur¬ 
nishing a large surface. From this the gastric juice issues, and when we 
consider the inner surface of the stomach, and the air cells of the lungs, we 
must prize an extended surface in those organs as highly as we do a large 
surface in a steam boiler if we expect great results. Two of the worse faults 
in the construction of a Shorthorn are the following, viz.: the ribs starting 
from the spine in a downward direction, giving a wedge shape to the upper 
third of the chest; the other is a long rib deficient at the lower end, causing a 
curve upward in the lower line immediately back of the foro leg. We doubt 


154 


THE FAIiM. 

if any other two defects are so hard to breed out as these. A drooping rump 
or low carriage forward may be brought up in one or two crosses, so. that 
with after care they may not reappear; but the defects in the chest pointed 
out above depend upon deficient vital organs within. The re-organization 
and enlargement of the heart, lungs, stomach, and liver lequire many dis¬ 
creet crosses to accomplish. Passing from the chest backwards, we would 
call attention to the importance of the short ribs being long, and standing 
out horizontally from the spine, forming a level plane forward of the hips. 
This broad, level loin generally keeps company with a round, deep chest and 
is a point of excellence that should always be sought. The hind quarter 
that holds its width 'well back, carries a large amount of meat not repre¬ 
sented in the quarter that narrows in rapidly from the hip back. A perfect 
svmmetrically-organized frame, with the fleshy part so well distributed and 
packed as to make it difficult to tell where one portion of the carcass ceases 
and the next begins This is the goal to be aimed at. The third and last 
subject, “ quality,” we will treat very briefly. No intelligent breeder while > 
striving to increase the depth and breadth cf the carcass, loses sight of the 
equally important point, the texture of those parts of the animal that are to 
be consumed as human food. This idea of texture is never lost sight of by 
the fruit grower, and the excellencies which fix the value of the apple, viz., 
fair size, smooth surface, and tender, juicy meat, are the three things upon 
■which we base our estimate of a Shorthorn. Now, the common notion is 
that all animals that handle mellow have high flavored, tender flesh. This 
is an erroneous idea, proved every day upon the butcher’s block. We couple 
two animals together, expecting to secure well-fattened, ready feeders in the 
progeny they will generally transmit it. But if both the parents have dark, 
unsavory flesh, they and all their get, and all the progeny after for all time, 
will have the same, unless modified and improved by new crosses having 
light-colored, savory flesh. 

Selecting Breeding Miales. —The first object which any breeder of cat¬ 
tle or sheep must keep in view is that his stock must be healthy. In the selec¬ 
tion of a male animal, therefore, the first things to be considered are the in¬ 
dications by which it may be possible to form a judgment as to his constitu¬ 
tion. There can be no doubt that this is one of the important points of form 
or shape to which it is material for a breeder to look into in the selection of 
either a bull or ram. It is not enough to observe that they have wide breasts 
or bosoms, but the width which is noticed in looking at them from the front, 
should be continued along the brisket, which should show great fullness in 
the part under the elbows; it is also important that they should be thick 
through the region of the heart. 

Another point to be carefully considered is the muscular system. Great 
muscular power is not only indicative of a good constitution and good health, 
but it has a merit in itself. Large muscles are the usual accompaniment of 
strength of constitution, and it also shows that when ready for the shambles 
there will be a good proportionate mixture of muscle and fat in the meat. In 
both bulls and rams a thick neck is proof of large muscles, and there can 
hardly be a greater fault in either animal than to have this wanting. Other 
indications of muscle will be more difficult to observe in sheep than in cattle. 
In a good bull there should be a full muscle on each side of the backbone, 
just behind the top of the shoulder blades. He should also have the mus¬ 
cles at the outside of the thigh full and extending nearly to the hough. A 
bull having these indications will seldom be found deficient in muscle. 




155 



LIVE STOCK. 

,, Ri, ; S * nS a I?ull -We give an illustration of apian for putting a ring 
through the nose of a bull worthy of the attention of stock-breeders. A ring 
is undoubtedly the safest mode of controlling the bull. Clamp rings having 
two knobs, which press into the nostrils, may be useful for occasional use 
but a good stout copper ring should be put through the cartilage of the nose 
° f e \ ei T ^roughbred bull before he is four years old. This will last him 
tor bis lifetime, and whether tied up in the stable or out for exercise, it will 
e ec ua y conti ol him. The old-tashioned plan of inserting the rings was 
by burning a hole through the 
cartilage with a hot iron, but 
this iras a cruel and difficult 
process. The plan suggested 
■is to use a weapon styled a 
troehar, similar to the surgical 
instrument employed for 
tapping ” in case of dropsy, 

'and for “ hoove ” in cows. It 
is a sharp-pointed, round dagger (the point three-sided), carrying a silver- 
plated shield reaching from the upper part of the point to the handle. The 
above illustration will further explain. 

The sheath being on the dagger when the operation is performed, the 
Avhole is easily pushed through the nose, the sharp point of the dagger 
piercing the nostril with so little pain that one man can easily hold the head 
still. The dagger is then Avitlidrawn, leaving the sheath in the hole. The 
ring is then inserted into the end of the sheath, which is slowly withdraAvm, 
leaving the ring in place. This is then closed and fastened Avith a screAv. 

These rings should be so 
Avell made that both the 
hinge and the screAv should 
be perfectly smooth, and 
so fitting as to take a prac¬ 
ticed eye to notice the join¬ 
ing. 

The manner in which 
the operation is performed 
will be seen at a glance at 
the accompanying engrav¬ 
ing. 

The ring should turn 
freely round in the incision, 
Avhich, having been made 
Avitli a three-cornered cut, 
av i 11 be more sensitive 
against a pull than the smooth-burned hole. Indeed, it is sometimes neces¬ 
sary AA r ith the latter cruel operation to take the ring out after a time and re¬ 
sort again to burning, in order to make the cartilage sufficiently sensitive for 
the ring to be effective in managing the animal. 



An Inexpensive Relish, for Stock. —Stock men of large experience ap¬ 
preciate the need of salt for stock, and usually make such provision that ani¬ 
mals under their care are daily provided Avith this relish. There are, hoAv- 
ever, many farmers who look upon salt as a luxury enjoyed by their stock 
when placed within reach, but not necessary to their thrift or comfort. Obr 
















156 


THE FAIiM. 


servation and experience have proven to those who have given most at¬ 
tention to the subject that cattle require for best results the salt they 
crave. 

The French Government at one time commissioned a number of practical 
and scientific men to investigate the subject of salt as a relish for stock, and 
ascertain the quantity required for different animals. While only approximate 
figures could be arrived at in the numerous experiments made to settle this 
matter, a scale was fixed upon by this commission as the minimum daily al¬ 
lowances for the different animals in ordinary condition. In this a working 
ox or a milch cow is allowed two ounces of salt per diem. Bepeated trials j 
appeared to prove that the amount specified produced in milch cows the , 
greatest flow of milk. Oxen fed the same amount presented sleek coats, 
while others receiving no salt were rough, mangy, and ill conditioned. The 
scale in question allowed for fattening stall-fed oxen, two and a half to four 
ounces of salt per day, and for fattening pigs, from one to two ounces. For . 
sheep, from one-half ounce to two-tliirds of an ounce was allowed. One 
ounce was set down as the daily portion for horses and mules. 

The figures given above possess a practical value to feeders of stock, in 
that they represent the respective amounts best calculated to produce de¬ 
sirable results in the different animals named, and give an idea of the 
amount required by each kind. On small farms with few animals salt can 
be dealt out in small quantities each day, but where herds and flocks are 
numerous, salt boxes and troughs become a necessity, and are in any case a 
convenient and economical arrangement. These troughs or boxes ought, of 
course, to be in sheltered places and at points where animals can have daily 
access to them. Some should be placed at elevations to suit horses and 
cows, and others set within reach of sheep. 

A plan in favor in the far West, and which recommends itself on the 
ground of economy, is mixing salt and hardwood ashes in equal proportions, 
combined with a sufficient amount of water to make a solid lump or mass. 
These lumps are distributed in the trough, where, with diligent licking, 
each animal gets a small quantity, the belief being that they will take in 
this form no more than they really require. In addition to the fact that salt 
is necessary to the thrift of animals, a strong argument in its favor in locali¬ 
ties where cattle and sheep are allowed extended runs during the day, is 
that it proves a strong attraction, bringing them home at night without other 
incentive. 

Cattle in Cornstalks. —A Kansas farmer writes: If cattle are allowed 
to run in stalk fields for an indefinite time they are apt to die from eating 
too much food of an indigestible character. Cornstalks when left standing 
in the field become woody and indigestible. Cattle when allowed to run, fill 
themselves so full that the stomach becomes clogged, the food heats, does 
not pass off, and the animal dies. For three winters I have fed my cows on 
shocked cornstalks, feeding no hay or straw, and in all cases they have done 
better than when fed on hay. In the winter of 1880 and 1881, I wintered 
3,500 head of working oxen. I bought all the stalk fields that were acces¬ 
sible, allowed the cattle to run in them three hours each day, when I had 
them driven out. My reasons for so doing was not on account of smut, but 
because the stalks had become hard, woody and indigestible. I lost no cat¬ 
tle from this management, and returned them in the spring with a loss of 
only two to the hundred. Feeders have fed beef cattle for years oil 
shock corn; they consider it the best and safest kind of feed. 







LIVE STOCK. 157 

Relieving Choked Cattle —The accompanying engraving represents 
the instruments employed for relieving choked cattle, as recommended by 
Prof. Simonds, of the Royal Veterinary College of England. 

“ In cases of choking,” says Prof. S., “ the amount of danger may mostly 
be calculated by the abdominal distension, for death results from the lungs 
being unable to expand in conse- 
* quence of the pressure of the ru¬ 
men against the diaphragm.” 

He says: “In many cases 
prior to unchoking the patient, 
the gaseous compounds which 
are disengaged from the ingesta 
and distend the rumen, must be 
1 given an exit to, by puncturing 
the rumen, to prevent suffoca- 
tion.” 

The instrument for unchoking, 
as shown in the sketch, con- 
sists of a probang and a gag; the 
latter is to be placed in the mouth 
as shown. Two assistants are re- § 
quired. One of these should be m 
placed on either side of the ani- '< 
mal, holding the handle of the g 
gag, which protrudes from the 0 
side of the mouth, with one hand, § 
and the opposite horn with the 
other. They must also keep the 0 
head elevated so as to bring it as £ 

. near as possible in a straight line ^ 
with the neck. We give Prof. « 

Simonds’s instructions in opera¬ 
ting as follows: 

“The probang being held as 
?. represented, is to be passe d 
through the opening in the gag 
and carried carefully over the 
dorsum of the tongue into the 
pharynx, and from thence pushed 
inwards until it reaches the ob¬ 
struction. Sufficient and well- 
regulated pressure is now to be 
made until the obstruction yields, 
when it is to be driven by the in- 
I strument into the rumen. Care 
should always be taken to propel 
the root into the first stomach, and we should never rely on the power of the 
esophagus to do this after we have succeeded in removing it from its origi¬ 
nal situation. Want of attention to this simple rule has often protracted suf¬ 
fering to the animal, and not unfrequently death. The probangs in ordinary 
use are seldom of sufficient length, nor are the bulbs with which they are 
tipped of a proper shape. The instrument should not be less than six and a 
half feet long, and the bulbs should be large and slightly cup-sliaped.” 








158 


THE FAEM. 


Bone Disease in Milcli Cows. —For more than half a century therd 
have been occasional outbreaks of a peculiar disease in New England, mostly 
affecting milch cows, and commonly known as bone-ail or stifle joint lame¬ 
ness. Heretofore the trouble has been chiefly confined to hilly sections, but 
seems now to be approaching the valleys. 

This disease, technically called Cachexhia ossifraga, is not confined to 
the stifle joint, frequently affecting the hip and other joints also. In one 
case, where the hip joint was affected, examination showed that the articular 
surface of the head of the tibia or shank bone had been worn through by its 
friction with the femur, or thigh bone, by the absorption of the floating carti¬ 
lage between the ends of the bones. Similar conditions were noticed in 
other instances. As it is believed this cartilage cannot be regenerated, it 
was at first a question whether the disease was curable. Before investiga¬ 
tion, its cause was attributed to the phosphatic materials in the feed, and 
this idea has been fully established. Where such materials were supplied in * 
the form of bran, the disease was thought to be occasioned by the excessive 
use of such feed, as it was known that such excess changes the bone into ar 
sort of phosphate, while the healthy bone is an insoluble phosphate. 

In former outbreaks, bone meal was found to be an effective remedy, and 
in recent instances it has been used with good results. A Suffield, Conn., 
man, of considerable experience, says that two ounces of the meal in a pint 
of bran, three times a week during the early summer and fall feeding, will 
generally cure, if accompanied with plenty of salt. In aggravated cases, 
however, the free use of this material is recommended. Still, care must be 
exercised lest it should be supplied too freely, as an excess is sometimes 
liable to injure the butter, because the putrid, oily matter of the bone is ex¬ 
creted by the udder as a sort of oleomargarine. But if the meal has been 
thoroughly clarified, this trouble is less apt to occur, and it may be avoided 
altogether by the use of cotton-seed meal, which is rich in phosphates with¬ 
out containing the obnoxious matter liable to be in bone meal. Bran is also 
largely made up of phosphates, but it is well to add corn meal. 

The necessary mineral element can probably be furnished in hay that has 
been manured with superphosphates, which furnish lime and phosphoric 
acid that are greedily taken in by the plant. Indeed, the recent outbreak is 
accounted for by the fact that where it occurs, little, if any, mineral fertil- < 
izers are used. They are now being applied more extensively, and the 
gradual disappearance of the disease will doubtless follow. 

Maries of a Good Cow. —Those who keep but one or two cows natur- j 
ally want them for general purposes, do not want a mere butter cow nor yet j 
a mere milk animal, but one which combines both in as great a degree as 
can be found. Such cows are not plentiful, we admit, or at least are not 
often for sale at a moderate price, so that when they are offered, it behooves ! 
would-be purchasers to be able to tell them. , 

We do not believe in very small cows, nor yet in large, heavy animals, as i 
neither, as a rule, are capable of filling the bill, the former too often falling 
short in the quantity, while the large ones are apt to run too much to flesh 
to make them profitable dairy animals. The medium-sized ones invariably 
produce the best results, and a heavy milker and a large butter maker is 
seldom fat, as the majority of the food she consumes is converted into milk 
and butter. The head should be fine but bony, with small horns, large, 
mealy nose and shapely ears. The base of the horns and the inside of the 
ears should be of a bright golden color. We have never yet seen an animal 







LIVE STOCK. 


159 


f 


-s 




With horns and ears well colored (golden yellow) which failed to make a fine 
quality of butter and highly colored. It is an unmistakable sign. The body 
should be of good size, and the width and depth rapidly increase as it runs 
to the rear or hind quarters. The milk veins should be large and prominent, 
and the udder need not necessarily be large, so it is not meaty, but is small 
when milked out. The teats should be of good size, and only have a single 
hole in each; we have seen quite a number with teats having two holes. 
The hair should be fine and soft, while the skin should be pliable, and 
almost as soft to touch as velvet or kid. In color it should be tinged deeply 
with yellow, especially on the shoulders and flank and along the back. 
Color of the hair is rather a secondary matter, though the best cows are 
generally yellow, tawn, gray or white, with dark marks edged with yellow. 
Black cows but seldom prove to be good general-purpose ones, though of 
course there are exceptions frequently met with. 

Cattle Rack. —We give the following illustrated design for a rack to feed 
cattle from in the yard. We think 
it far superior in point of economy 
and convenience to anything of the 
kind we have seen. It can easily be 
made by anyone possessing ordi¬ 
nary skill in using tools: 

The shape, as will be seen, is six 
sided, or in the form of a hexagon. 

It consists of six upright posts five 
feet long (3 by 4 scantling will an¬ 
swer, or round poles 3 or 4 inches 
through will do very well), and 
twelve boards, each one foot in 
i width and five feet long. These 
latter nailed to the posts horizon- 
tally will form the box. To 
^ strengthen the whole and keep the 
cattle from stepping over the sides, 
nail strips of thick boards or plank 
"flatwise .across the upper end of 

the posts. Then nail two boards diagonally upon each side, extending from 
the top of the posts to the bottom of the box, leaving a space of about a foot 
and a half in the center on a line with the upper edge of the box. These 
slanting boards serve as braces, and give strength and firmness to the 
whole structure, and make six feeding places for the cattle. If scantling is. 
used for posts, it would be well to hew off the corner from each, so as to- 
make the boards fit well. 

, Mode of Construction.— Nail the boards to two sets of posts to form two 
opposite sides. Cut two strips of boards about ten feet four inches long; 
stand the side upright and nail these strips across the top and bottom— 
across the diameter—then bring the other ends within five feet, and nail on 
the boards across the end; you will then have three sides formed. Nail on 
the other two opposite sides and end. Put on the braces and it is done. It 
can be moved to different parts of the yard, and with care will last for years. 

.Economy in Feeding Cattle. —There is more waste in feeding than in 
anything else on the farm. Wheat straw, corn-stalks, and even chaff maybe 



CATTLE BACK. 


































160 THE FA EM. 

fed, if properly prepared. With a fodder cutter that not only cuts but 
crushes, corn fodder can be made as palatable as clover hay, and wheat 
straw, when cut into short lengths and mixed with hay, answers excellently 
when grain is fed with it. Cows will always eat chaff if it is mixed with cut 
food. If all such feeding material as corn fodder and wheat straw is cut up 
fine, and well moistened, salted, and mixed with bran, shorts and meal, 
with a pound of linseed or cotton-seed meal additional, a mess will thus be 
prepared that is not only nourishing and healthy, but superior to hay alone. 

It is not intended here to recommend straw in the place of better food, but 
we claim that if a saving can be effected by feeding straw in connection with 
concentrated food, there will be a saving, not only of the hay in the loft by 
reason of the substitution, but also of much that annually goes to waste. 

How wasteful it is to throw fodder and straw over the fence into the farm¬ 
yard to be picked over and trampled in the dirt without being consumed. 
Every pound of fodder and straw is valuable and can be put to useful service, , 
which is very important when the winter’s supply of hay seems unlikely to 
last, and when the cold season is unusually long. Nor is it proper to allow 
fodder to remain all the year stacked in the fields, for it is almost every time 
that the winds blow it down, where it remains until fed, but it is not then in 
as proper condition as if well cured and placed under cover. As to using 
straw for bedding, this, also, is wastefully done, as if it possessed no value; 
and if chaff is not preferred for feeding, let it be used as an absorbent in the 
stables, for which purpose nothing is superior to it. A crop of turnips, or 
what maybe better, beets, parsnips, and carrots, should be grown for stock, 
not only for their value for feeding purposes, in proportion to their cost, but , 
also because they afford a succulent diet in winter when every other kind of 
food is dry, and at times not relished. 

How Good Cows lire Ruined— Milking is an art, and the farm hand 
who knows how to milk properly is more valuable to the careful dairyman <. 
than any other help. Of course, anybody can milk, and some can milk a 
dozen cows before breakfast. The careful manager, however, is not so anx¬ 
ious for fast help as he is to employ those who are careful. The operation 
should never be hurried, but the milk should be drawn steadily, and, as it 
flows, naturally. Some cows have very tender teats, and the rapid milkman 
forgets this fact in his endeavor to make speed. The cow that is naturally im- .s 
patient and fretful does not like to submit to rough handling, and her disposi¬ 
tion is soon ruined by such treatment. With the constant irritation she will 
fail in quantity, and be less productive, just as any human being would fail to 
perform faithful service when laboring under mental affliction or trouble. 

As the udder becomes distended and filled with milk, the desire on the part 
of the cow is to be relieved of its contents, and she willingly submits to it 
for the relief it occasions. The constant practice of being milked at stated 
intervals impresses itself strongly upon her, and she will seldom offer resist¬ 
ance without cause. When a cow, therefore, that has been a patient deliverer ^ 
of milk becomes fractious, the fault can always be traced to the milkman. 
The careless dairyman is the one who complains of the failure of his cows to 
keep up the flow, and bloody milk, garget and other evils are the results of 
his own bad management. There is another point in the treatment of cows 
that demands attention, and that is allowing them to stand a long time wait¬ 
ing to be milked. With cows that give large yield it is very painful, and 
when the udders have been filled to their utmost, and the milkman is not on 
hand to relieve them, they become exceedingly nervous and restless. This 


LIVE STOCK. 


161 


will do more to cause a cow to go dry before her period than anything else, 
and many a good cow has been sent to the shambles through diminution of 
quantity, simply because nature has revolted at her sufferings, and allowed 
her to dry up because her storehouse was not emptied of its contents at the 
proper times. She should also be milked to the last drop, if possible, and 
as the last portion of milk is claimed to be the richest, the udder should be 
left with nothing in it. With regularity in feeding and milking, and kind 
treatment at all times, the cow will not only become gentle, and remain so, 
but will milk on several weeks longer than otherwise. An experienced 
dairyman needs help that are skillful, and he knows how to judge the milk¬ 
man’s work by the behavior of his cows. When a stable of cows begin to 
give trouble in milking, it is only necessary to observe the manner in which 
they are milked in order to 
cure the evil. The udder 
of a cow is a very delicate 
structure, and she quickly 
rebels at rough usage or 
improper periods of milk¬ 
ing. 

To Prevent Cattle 
from Hooking Fences.— 

The mode herewith illus¬ 
trated will be found a sure 
cure for cattle that hook 
or put their heads through 
fences. Take a one-eighth 
inch annealed wire ten 
inches long; .make a ring 
in one end (one inch and a 
half); grind the other end 
sharp, to punch through 
the gristle in the nose. The 
animal’s head has to be 
fastened securely in the 
stanchions, in order to 
bore the holes through the 
horns, which should be 
done with a three-eighth inch bit; then punch the wire through, and make the 
same sized ring in the sharp end; now take a cord that will run easily through 
the holes in the horns, and tie one end to the ring on one side and pass the 
cord through the holes in the horns to the other ring; the wire should be 
bent up above the nostrils to prevent the breath from rotting the cord; the 
cord should not be very tight when put on, for the rains will tighten it enough. 

To keep a bull from jumping and hooking fence, put on the above and a 
poke with the sword or arm running through a wire ring in the nose, long 
enough to keep the arm from bearing on the wire, and + he animal is at home 
all the time. 

Currying Milch Cows. —To the farmer the idea of currying a cow, 
milch or otherwise, is an absurdity; but to dairymen who have highly-bred 
cows, who take a pride in their business and get the top price of the market 
for their produce, it is a matter of moment, in that it is known to increase the 
milk flow and the butter produce by ten to twenty per cent. 






162 


THE FARM. 


There are many points in the conduct of a dairy, unknown, indeed, un¬ 
thought of by farmers, that will presently have a prominent place in their 
management, very much to the benefit of themselves and those who receive 
and make use of their produce. 

Among those are: Succulent food, protection from inclement weather, 
kind handling, thorough and careful milking, full and regular feeding, clean 
stabling (when stabled), and an absence of foul odors, good ventilation, 
plenty of light and that thorough cleansing of the skin without which no 
milch cow can perform her duty thoroughly and well. With all these we 
must, to have a “ tip top ” article of butter, have the washing of the udder and 
teats before milking, and with this an entire absence of the filth accumulated 
in feeding and lounging between milkings. 

Of all these, one of the most important is that of periodical currying, in 
that it cleanses the hide of superfluous hair, keeps it active and healthful 
and void of that peculiar odor so commonly found in milk and sometimes in 
butter. It promotes the secretion and disposition of the putrid particles of 
the animal system which would otherwise be absorbed by the secretery 


glands and be carried off in the 
milk, and leaves the latter not 
only purer but of a much better 
quality, and gives promise to 
the butter maker of a higher 
color and a purer flavor to the 
butter from the churn, hence a 
higher price in the market. 




Herein may seem lots of 
trouble over details, but when 
reduced to a system they occupy 
little of time, labor or expense. 


To Prevent Cows Kick- 
in g* —We give an illustration 
of a patented device for pre¬ 
venting a cow from kicking, ^ 


To Prevent Cows Kick- 


im g*—We give an illustration 
of a patented device for prc- 


TO PREVENT COWS KICKING. 


which is said by those who have used it to be effectual. It consists of a light 
iron semi-circle intended to go over the back of the animal, with a joint and r 
ratchet at the side, and a wooden block at each end, Avhich fits to the flank of * 
the cow, and prevents her from moving her foot forward. The inventor 
claims that it can be affixed in three or four seconds and that its operation is 
neither cruel nor harsh. On the contrary the habit has been entirely cured 
after it is used for a short time. It will doubtless suggest a modification 
that will be useful to farmers without infringing upon the patent. 

Black Tongue in Cattle —The symptoms are inflammation of the 
mouth, swelling of the head and face, discharge of bloody saliva, and high 
fever marks the first stages. Ulcers soon appear under and on the sides of the * f 
tongue. Then the throat and neck swell, and if the disease is not checked 
gangrene ensues and the animal dies. The disease is said to yield readily to 
early and proper treatment. The following has proved very successful: The 
animal should be bled from the neck vein. Give him castor oil, one pint to 
be repeated in ten hours if it should not operate. Then use the following- 
Powdered burnt alum, four ounces; chloride of lime, two ounces; corn meal 
two quarts. Mix, and with this powder swab the mouth frequently. 











LIVE STOCK. 


163 


Iiice on Cattle—A correspondent of the Country Gentleman says on 
this subject: The more common remedies recommended for relieving cattle 
and stock from lice are more or less dangerous to life or health, and must 
be used with extreme care. An unfailing remedy which may be used by 
any one without dangei’ to life or limb would be a boon to many farmers. 
Such a remedy we have in the bee-larkspur of our flower-gardens. A strong 
tea made from the seeds or foliage of the plant can be used as a wash with 
perfect safety. Any part of the plant may be used in making the wash, 
either green or dried. The plant should be gathered before it is frosted, 
and cured and preserved as other herbs are. In the use of kerosene, mer¬ 
curial ointment, tobacco, etc., great care must be used or injury results from 
absorption; it enters the limbs or other parts of the animal and is often a 
permanent injury. No such danger need be apprehended in the use of 
larkspur. All the parts where the vermin lodge should be well scrubbed 
with the wash, and if thoroughly well done in a pleasant, mild day, one ap¬ 
plication is sufficient. In former days, when school children were troubled, 
I have heard old people tell their experience in using this remedy to their 
complete satisfaction. Another equally harmless remedy is aloes in fine 
powder, which may be used dry by filling a common pepper box with the 
powder and sprinkling it freely into the hair on the neck, back, sides and 
rump of the infested animal. Rub it thoroughly through the hair and on 
the skin with the ends of the fingers. Leave the animal undisturbed for a 
K’eek, then card thoroughly and apply as before. Continue this at intervals 
of a week, till not a living parasite is left. Usually two applications, if thor¬ 
oughly made, will suffice. 

Another writer says that to destroy lice on live stock he has found no¬ 
thing better than strong carbolic soapsuds. The soap usually sold under 
that name is not strong enough for the purpose. It may be easily prepared 
and at any degree of strength that may be required. Get a pound of car¬ 
bolic acid crystals, which may be had at any wholesale druggist’s. I get 
them in Boston at a cost of sixty cents per pound. Take ten pounds of com¬ 
mon bar soap, put in a pan with a little water and heat until dissolved. 
Take out the cork from the bottle containing the acid, and set it in hot water, 
which will cause the acid to become fluid; add this to the soap and stir well. 
Set away to cool and you will have a soap at a small cost that will be strong 
enough to kill any vermin which infest domestic animals, and which will 
cure barn itch or any cutaneous diseases to which they are liable. It is 
good to cleanse and heal sores, and a wash of it will be found good where 
animals are hide-bound and the skin out of condition; it will be found good 
to wash the inside of poultry houses to render them sweet and kill and pre¬ 
vent vermin. It is a cheap, safe and sure remedy, and should find a place 
in all well regulated premises. 

A stock-grower, writing to the New York club, gives his mode of de¬ 
stroying lice on cattle. He says: I destroy them with brine—any kind of 
salt water will do it. I find two kinds of lice; the blue lice, and I think the 
other is hen lice. I tried red precipitate one year; it killed the lice, two 
yearlings, and a two-year old. But washing the cattle with brine is easier, 
and they get into the habit of licking one another, and are more gentle 
toward each other. 

Another writer recommends grease. He says: “ Insects breathe by 
means of small pores on their sides. Grease or oil that comes in contact 
with the insects closes the pores and stops the breathing. Mercurial oint¬ 
ment kills as much by the lard in it as by the mercury—that is, so far as the 


164 


THE FARM . 


vermin are concerned, but not as to the animals that lick it off from their 
bodies, so that almost any oily or greasy application will be destructive to 
insect vermin that infest animals if it is applied where it will do the most 
good.” 

Still another authority says: “ A good remedy for lice on cattle is water 
in which potatoes were boiled. For every one of your cattle take two quarts 
of water and eight middle-sized potatoes cut in half. If you have ten cattle, 
you must take eighty potatoes and twenty quarts of water. When the 
potatoes are soft take them out. Get a large sponge and wash the cattle 
freely, choosing a warm day. Comb them with a currycomb, and you will 
be astonished to see the effects of the potato water.” 

Cheap Shelter for Stock. —Shelter for stock is one of the great needs 
of farmers. It is costly to build a barn and shed, but for simple purposes of 
shelter farmers might make greater use of their abundance of straw. In 
some localities it is customary to burn this as the readiest means to get it 
out of the way. A much better use might be made of it in constructing 
shelter for all kinds of stock, both against rain and cold. A very good plan 
is to make a frame of poles (as the engraving represents), and stack straw 
over them. This work should be done at threshing time, but if it has been 

neglected it may be done 
at any later time. It pays 
richly in health, thrift, and' 
in the saving of food, to 
provide shelter. 

Tlie Soiling System 
with. Cows. —It is a ques¬ 
tion of economy as to 
whether it is wise in us to 
allow the herd the full oc¬ 
cupancy of a pasture, in 
order to reap the products 
in the shape of butter and 
milk. A large herd re¬ 
quires a large pasture, and before any estimate can be made in the way of 
profit and loss, the value of the pasture itself, and the probability of what it 
may yield if cultivated, should be considered. 

The soiling system, which demands that the cattle shall be fed at the 
barn instead of pasturing in the field, has many advocates, and the reasons 
in its favor are that fewer fences are required, more manure is saved, larger 
yields of milk and butter are procured, and less space is required. Those 
who oppose the method say that it requires extra labor, and that the health 
of the stock is improved by their having the liberty of the pasture. 

Every consideration should be made, however, regarding the conditions. 
If the stock is kept on farms that are too large for cultivation, and where 
space is no object, with an unlimited supply of grass that cannot be utilized 
except by being pastured, then the soiling system is not economical, for no 
necessity arises for its practice; but on small dairy farms, where land is 
valuable and the products within easy reach of the best markets, the system 
of stall feeding of cattle is one that should be carried to an extreme, for the 
result will be very profitable, any other method being suicidal in the 
extreme. The extra labor required is equalized by the saving in fences, and 















Live stock. 


1C5 


tlie care and management is balanced by the savings of the liquid and solid 
manure. Both systems, therefore, are profitable under certain circum¬ 
stances, the whole matter being regulated by soil, climate, capacity for pro¬ 
duction, and distance from market. 

Raising Calves. —A stock grower writes: As a general rule, I let the 
calf suck the cow for three days, then I take it away; and after it has been 
twelve hours without food, I give it some new milk—about ten pounds, if I 
can get him to eat it. If, while the calf is running with the cow, you can 
handle it a little, so as to make it tame, it will learn to eat much easier. I 
am a large, stout man, and can easily hold a calf. If the calf is tame, so 
that it will come up to you and suck your hand, you can get it to eat the first 
time without much trouble; but if it is not tame, I get a-straddle of the calf, 
back him up in a corner, hold the pail between my knees, put one finger in 
the calf’s mouth, and with the other hand hold the calf’s head in the pail, 
and keep doing so until the calf commences to suck. Sometimes he will 
begin right off, and others will refuse for maybe ten minutes; but I never 
had one but what would suck after a while. By the third time I feed him I 
commence to take my finger out of his mouth, and do so more and more 
until he drinks without having a finger to suck. I feed entirely on new milk 
for ten days, then give about half new and half twelve-hours-old skimmed 
milk (using the cream I take off the milk on the table); then, after another 
ten days, I drop the new milk, having done so by degrees, and feed half 
twelve-hours-old skimmed milk and half skimmed milk. I work it so for a 
little while; but soon give him all skimmed milk, giving about eleven or 
twelve pounds at a feeding, and feed twice a day, without any meal or bran. 
I give in winter all the hay they want, keeping some before them all the 
time. After a calf is three months old you can give it some meal or shorts, 
if you wish; but I do not think it is best if it can have plenty of milk. I feed 
calves until about five months old, and then commence to Avean them by 
degrees. If calves scour Avhile they are being fed milk, I give them about 
tAvo teaspoonfuls of salt. Iu the summer I feed them their milk cold, and 
it is generally thick, sour milk. In the Avinter I Avarm it a little, about milk- 
warm or blood-heat. It is well to handle your calves some Avhile they are 
eating, so as to make them tame, and that is one advantage of raising them 
by hand, for they are generally tame. 

Charcoal for Siclc Animals. —In nine cases out of ten, when an animal 
is sick the digestion is Avrong. Charcoal is the most efficient and rapid cor¬ 
rective. The hired man came in with the intelligence that one of the finest 
coavs Avas very sick, and a kind neighbor proposed the usual drugs and 
poisons. The OAvner being ill and unable to examine the coav, concluded 
that the trouble came from over-eating, and ordered a teaspoonful of pul- 
A'erized charcoal to be given in Avater. It Avas mixed, placed in a junk 
bottle, the head turned dowmvard. In five minutes improvement Avas 
visible, and in a feAv hours the animal Avas in the pasture quietly grazing. 
Another instance of equal success occurred Avith a young heifer which had 
become badly bloated by eating green apples after a hard Avind. The bloat 
Avas so severe that the sides Avere as hard as a barrel. The old remedy, 
saleratus, Avas tried for correcting the acidity. But the attempts at putting it 
doAvn ahvays raised coughing, and it did little good. Half a teaspoonful of 
fresh powdered charcoal Avas given. In six hours all the appearance ot the 
bloat had gone, and the heifer Avas Avell. 


iee 


THE FARM. 


How to Break a Heifer or a Vicious Cow to Milk.—A vicious COW 

becomes so only by education, or, as it is sometimes said, by being spoiled. 
The case is much worse than that of a heiter, and when the cow is appar¬ 
ently cured of a bad habit, it is liable upon slight provocation to return. 
The principle involved in the treatment of all brutes is to employ kindness 
together with the means of proper restraint. In the case of the young or the 
vicious cow, place her in stanchions or fasten her securely. Pass a girth— 
either a strap or a rope—around the body, just in front of the bag, letting 
it pass in the rear of the right hip and in front of the left. Draw the girth 
somewhat tightly—more or less so, to correspond with the severity of the 
case. Take pail and stool, and sit down to the milking. The case must be 
a very obstinate one which will give any lasting trouble. The philosophy of 
the treatment is that the strap so restrains the actions of the muscles of the 
hind legs that the animal cannot kick to harm, or get its foot into the pail, 
while the restraint is steady and sure and the punishment not severe. A 
woman or boy can manage an ordinary case. Heifers broken in this way, we 

think, become more thor¬ 
oughly gentle and sub¬ 
missive. Of course an 
even temper and kind 
treatment must be strict¬ 
ly observed. 

Feed Raek for 
Stock. —The rack rep¬ 
resented in this engrav¬ 
ing is designed to be 
placed against a building 
or wall, under cover. It 
may be adapted to any 
kind of stock by placing 
feed back FOB stock. it a t the proper height. 

The cut plainly explains 

its construction. The trough below the slats may be used for feeding grain 
or roots. This style of rack is very popular in Europe. 



Science Applied to Stock-Feeding. —It is often necessary to mix differ¬ 
ent kinds of food to secure the best combination of flesh and fat-producing 
elements. Experiments have been made in Germany to ascertain what is 
the proper combination of these principles. Ordinary food contains two 
leading elements, one of which supplies the flesh and muscle of the animal 
frame, and the other the fat and heat. These two elements should bear a 
certain relation to each other. In the combination producing the best re¬ 
sults, the ratio is one of the muscle-producing to three or four of the fat- 
producing. Our common crop contains these elements in very different ra¬ 
tios. In corn-fodder it is 1 to 10, which is too small proportion of the muscle- 
producing element in proportion to the fat-producing. In wheat straw, they 
are 1 to 15; in oat straw, they are 1 to 16; in German millet, they are 1 to 3, 
so that this, when cut in the dough state, possesses the proper combination. 
In corn (grain) they are 1 to 7 or 8, too much of the fat for the muscle-pro¬ 
ducing elements. This corresponds to our experience. Corn is too heating 
for work stock in our climate in summer. It is, however, excellent for fat¬ 
tening animals. In oats (grain) these elements are 1 to 5, nearer correct 














































LIVE STOCK. . lev 

than in corn. In wheat bran, 2 to 8 1-2; in rye, 1 to 6. European field bean 
has 1 to 1.8 (one and eight-tenths), showing too much muscle-producing 
for the fat-producing elements. The proper medium may be attained by 
mixing two kinds of food. Thus corn and peas mixed make the ratio about 
conect. Clover hay is 1 to 3; lucerne, 1 to 2; vetch, 1 to a little more than 2. 

How Practical Farmers Manage their Cattle—A well-known firm 
of practical farmers give the following information of the method pursued by 
them. Unless the weather is stormy, we turn our breeding bulls out for 
exercise half of every day, often with the cows in the pasture, when none of 
them are in heat. After breeding our cows we keep them in a stable, where 
they cannot be with the other cows for from ten to fifteen hours. We have 
a tew stalls that are specially designed for cows that are due to calve during 
cold weather, and, of course, these are made as warm as we can get them. 
W e turn the cows out with their calves three times each day, until the calves 
are six to eight weeks old, then only twice a day. We rarely allow calves to 
run with dam in pasture, though we put the calves out to grass as soon as 
they have learned to eat it. Feed young calves well on shelled corn, oats 
and meal. Have separate pastures for bulls and heifer calves and do not 
allow them to pasture together after the bulls are three Of four months old. 
Our dry cows we winter principally on hay, feed¬ 
ing very little grain, except to young stock and 
those that have calves at their sides, or those de¬ 
signed for the show-ring. We breed our heifers 
when about twenty months old.” 

CalfWeaner. —This invention relates to the 
class of calf weaners adapted to be attached to 
the central cartilage of the calfs nose, like a 
bull ring, the parts of the weaner being pro¬ 
vided with sharp points that come against the 
cow’s bag when the calf attempts to suck. The 
parts or sections of the device are attached together by a pivot forming a 
part of one of the points. They are held closed by means of a small screw. 
This device is very effective, simple and cheap. 

Training Horns.— Jf it is desirable to straighten a horn, you may fre¬ 
quently scrape with a piece of glass, or a knife, the hollow side, which will 
cause it to grow faster on that side; but in that case it must not be scraped 
deeply, for then it becomes weaker on that side, and will be turned toward 
the weaker side. Some scrape the side toward which they wish to turn the 
horn quite thin, and then scrape the opposite side just enough to make it 
grow faster, and that will turn it toward the thinly scraped side. If you 
wish to turn a horn up, scrape on the under side just enough to make it 
grow faster on that side. A very barbarous way to turn a horn is sometimes 
practiced, by searing with a hot iron on that side toward which the horn is to 
be turned. This prevents the growth of horn on that side, and the growth 
upon the other side turns the horn. The horns may be polished by rubbing 
them with fine sand paper, and then with pumice-stone, and then oiling 
them. But this artificial manipulation of horns is seldom necessary. The 
horns of well-fed cattle will generally grow in comely shape if let alone. 

The hair is sometimes oiled to give it a glossy appearance, but the best 
gloss is put upon the hair by rich and appropriate feeding. Nature, under 
proper conditions, does this work best. 



calf weaner'. 



168 


THE FA JIM. 


Hollow Horn. —The first symptoms of the disease are readily seen. The 
animal affected refuses to eat, and shows an indisposition to move about. If 
not properly treated at once, the disease soon becomes so severe as to pre¬ 
vent the animal from feeding at all, and death is generally the result. The 
old plan of boring the horns and pouring in turpentine should never be re¬ 
sorted to, as it does no good, and gives the animal unnecessary pain. The 
horns are not effected, and consequently need no doctoring. The tongue is 
the member wherein lies the trouble. By securing the animal’s head, so as 
to prevent injury to yourself from its horns, and then pulling out the tongue 
and pressing it downward, over the under lip, hundreds of little black heads 
of so-called flesh-worms will rise above the surface. Take a dull table knife 
and scrape off these black heads carefully and gently; then throw on the 
tongue a little salt or pepper, or both mixed together, Avhich will bring up 
the saliva and set the animal’s tongue to working. In a few hours at most 
the animal will begin to eat, and the trouble will be ended. We have never 
known this remedy to fail, no matter how severe the case. 

Taste of Turnips in Milk. —There are several remedies, says the 
Amei'ican Agriculturist, to prevent the taste of turnips in milk, but we be¬ 
lieve no one of them can be strictly relied upon as effectual; we will, how¬ 
ever, give them in order: 

1. The objectionable taste comes from the crown of the turnip. If this is 
cut off and thrown away entire, the remainder will not affect the milk. 2. Dis¬ 
solve a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda in a teacupful of warm water, and 
add this to six gallons of milk Avlien first set in the pans. For a single gallon, 
of course one-sixth of the above would be sufficient, and for tAvo or three 
gallons in due proportion. The turnips ought to be given to the coav imme¬ 
diately after milking. 3. Pulp or crush the turnips so fine as to make them 
quickly and easily digested after eating, and when fed mix Avith cut hay or 
straw. 4. Scald the milk as soon as draAvn from the coavs. The best way 
to do this is, to insert the milk can into a large pan or kettle about three- 
quarters full of boiling water, and stir the milk until it reaches 80 to 90 de¬ 
grees of heat, and then set it aAvay to gradually cool off. The cream then 
rises thick, cOmes off in a lump, and is churned quickly. All the above 
remedies are so simple as to be easily tried, and if they do no good, cannot 
effect harm. 

Leaves for Bedding —An economical farmer writes: “ In the scarcity 
of rye straAv, and the absence of saAv-dust and other material for bedding 
cattle, Ave have been forced to use forest leaves to keep the horse and coav 
in cleanly condition, and on the Avhole are much pleased Avith them. The 
gathering Avas from the roadside, and along the Avails, where brush and 
leaves had accumulated for years. A feAv basketfuls were put under the 
animals every morning, and kept there until they Avere Avell saturated with 
the urine, and then throAvn out into the manure heap. With a plenty of this 
material, kept dry under a shed, and used abundantly, there is very little 
loss of liquid manure. As an absorbent, it is much more effective than avo 
expected to find it. Leaves have a high reputation as a material for the hot¬ 
bed and the compost heap, and are Avorth the labor of gathering, in most 
cases for their fertilizing properties. Cords of them are going to decay in the 
sight of almost every rural home, and it is the rare exception that they are 
utilized. Meanwhile the fields and garden are famished for Avant of manure 
or supplied Avith concentrated fertilizers at forty dollars a ton. 


LIVE STOCK. 


169 


The First Milk. —The custom of weaning the calf from the cow when 
it is only three days old is a barbarous one. We are familiar with* the fact 
that cows are sometimes injured by such a course, also, especially if she is 
naturally of a nervous, anxious disposition, she soon learning the habit of 
holding up her milk, and when a cow holds up her milk she has become 
addicted to the most incurable vice known. There is another thing con¬ 
nected with the Aveaning of the calf at so early an age, which is the plain 
statement that Ave make in claiming that the milk is unfit for use, although 
the calf is usually taken aAvay in order that the milk may be sold. Those 
who have had experience in the dairy know that milk from coavs that have 
recently come in is ropy, and possesses a distinct characteristic in appear¬ 
ance from that of cows that have been in service for a longer time. Thus, it 
is not only unnatural to deprive the coav of her calf so early, but to use the 
milk. It also pays to keep the calf on the milk until it is old enough to be 
sold at a fair price. 

L 

Obstructed Teats. —The more the udder is stimulated to extra secretion 
of milk, so much the more is it liable to congestion and inflammation. The 
px-essure, too, of a great quantity of milk in the udder upon the circular 
muscle (sphincter), Avhich closes the end of the teat, tends to set up more or' 
* less ii*ritation there, and this will sometimes result in excessive thickening 
of the Avails and hard milking, or even complete closure of the orifice. The 
. simplest and best treatment is to slightly dilate the opening of the teat, once 
or twice a day, Avith a perfectly smooth probe. A silver milking tube, about 
a twelfth of an inch in diameter, Avill answer; or, when this is not available, 
a probe of the same size made of gutta percha. A small size Avill be ne<ffes- 
sai’y at first, and, after a day or two, when that passes easily, a larger one, 
until finally the oi-ifice is easily dilatable and the milking sufficiently free. Ins 
) cvei*y case the probe should be well oiled, and introduced with caution, so> 
a as to avoid injury to the internal parts. A silver tube should be warmed 
before it is introduced. 

To Test tlie Health of a Horse or Cow.— In horses the pulse at rest 
beats foi'ty times, in an ox from fifty to fifty-five, and in sheep and pigs about 
seventy to eighty beats per minute. It may be felt Avherever a big arteiy 
crosses a bone. For instance, it is generally examined in the horse on the 
coi’d Avhich crosses over the bone of the loAver jaAV in front of its curved posh 
tion, or in the bony lidge above the eye, and in cattle over the middle of the 
first rib, and in sheep by placing the hand on the left side, Avhere the beating 
of the heart may be felt. Any material variations of the pulse from the 
* figures given above may be considered as a sign of disease. If rapid, hard 
and full, it is an indication of high fever or inflammation; if rapid, small and 
AA r eak, Ioav fever, loss of blood or weakness. If slow, the possibilities point 
to brain disease, and if iri*egulai*, to heart troubles. This is one of the princi¬ 
pal and sure tests of the health of an animal. 

Black Beg. —Black leg in young cattle genei’ally attacks calves in the 
fall when they get the rank growth of feed and are subject to sudden 
changes of weather from i*ains and frosts. It sometimes attacks thrifty 
calves in the winter when they are in the house and eating dry feed. W e 
believe the herdsman can ti’ace the disease back to the cause, and Ave believe 
the cause is the same in Avinter as in fall and spring; that is, rapid growth 
from genei'ous feed and liability to sudden chills from being kept in too 
warm houses and exposures to cold Avhile out dui’ing the day. btables 




170 


THE FARM. 

should not be too warm, nor should calves be deprived of exercise. Salt¬ 
petre in salt is used by experienced herdsmen as a preventive; bleeding will 
prevent the disease spreading among calves; for, although it is not con¬ 
tagious, the cause that produces it in one is apt to produce it in others. 

Treatment of Horn Brittleness. —In treating cows for horn brittle¬ 
ness, a stock raiser in Austria found no good resulting from feeding bone 
meal when the water used from a spring was perfectly soft—that is, without 
mineral matter. But upon changing them to the water of another spring 
containing carbonate, sulphate and phosphate of lime, and chlorate of mag¬ 
nesia in small quantities, the effects were as follows: 1. The animals drank 
half as much again as before. 2. The cows gave more and better milk than 
before. 3. The worst diseased cows at once began to get better, and this 
was the first case in which any of them recovered without removal. 4. The 
oxen showed far better condition than could be previously attained on the 
best of food and with the most careful attention. No fresh cases occurred as 
soon as the change of water was introduced. 

Sores on Cattle. —There are many sores on cattle, which if kept con¬ 
stantly washed clean with cold water and kept free from dirt, would heal of 
themselves. A very careful herdsman says his practice of curing hoof-rot is 
to thoroughly cleanse the affected parts with warm water and soap; and then 
apply warm tar between the hoofs. In very bad cases there will be a large 
core to come out; remove it carefully with the thumb and finger, cleanse the 
cavity as above with soap and water, and then fill it Avith warm tar. Keep 
tlie^parts thoroughly covei’ed with tar, even if it is necessary to use a band¬ 
age. Keep the animal in a clean, dry pasture. It is no more liable to affect 
the whole system than any other ulcer. "When once cured there is no danger 
of its appearing again unless from the same cause. 

Ilow to Milk a Cow. —The most economical way to milk a cow, all 
things considered, is to milk tlio» two fore teats clean, leaving off with a 
pretty full stream, and then milk the hind ones down to a short 
stream, and, returning to the fore ones, milk them to the same 
condition, not touching the hind ones again. This will leave the teats 
empty, and the bag, too. It is a false notion that tugging away at the teats 
stimulates a cow to give more milk; but, on the contrary, emptying the bag 
as soon as possible yields more; then tho cow can have the extra time to eat, 
which is a better stimulus than either. A slow milker is never tolerated in 
the dairy districts, and a “ stripper ” is an injury anywhere. The sooner a 
cow is milked, and all the organs connected with feeding, digestion, and 
secretion are left in their natural condition, the better it is for the cow. 

Caked Udder. —When a cow’s milk suddenly dries up and becomes 
clotted in the udder, it is probably due to garget or inflammation of the 
udder from some one of many causes. The udder is then hard or lumpy, 
and hot. A remedy is to give the cow at once eight or twelve ounces of 
Epsom salts, with half an ounce of saltpetre, repeating the latter in six 
hours. If the milk is difficult to draw, a solution of one ounce of carbonate 
of soda in a pint of water should be injected in the teats with a syringe, and 
then milked out. This will bring away the curded milk which, if left in, will 
make matters very much worse. If the cow is feverish, the saltpetre may 
be repeated for a day or two. To bathe the udder in cold water, rubbing 
and squeezing it gently for a considerable time, is useful. 


LIVE STOCK. 


171 

Another remedy is to wash and rub thoroughly Avith water as hot as you 
can bear your hand. Then rub with a dry cloth. Then apply hog’s lard, or 
what is better, grate good yellow carrot fine and simmer it in the lard to an 
ointment and apply and rub as above. 

Cows Winter Themselves. —Many farmers are accustomed to dry off 
their cows early, milking them only about eight months. We think it im¬ 
proves the milking qualities of the cows to milk them ten months, but they 
should be»Avell fed. We have a neighbor, who, ten years ago, found himself 
short of hay in the fall, and lamented that he should have to pay out nearly 
all of the product of his cows through the summer to purchase hay at high 
prices to winter them. He had a moderate amount of straw, and we sug¬ 
gested that the product of his cows from the first day of December, if well 
fed, would pay for all the corn and meal, middlings, etc., necessary to 
winter his cows in fine condition. He tried this, keeping account of pur¬ 
chases of feed and sales of butter, and found that the butter came out ten 
dollars ahead in the spring. 

Cornstalks for Cattle.— A Maine farmer says: Farmers justly set a high 
value on well cured corn stalks, but some find a difficulty in getting their 
stock to eat them as cleanly as they Avish. I have overcome this difficulty 
this Avinter by sprinkling them with hot brine. I withheld dry salt from the 
stock a Avhile, also husks, and made a brine by putting salt into a watering 
pot and pouring on hot Avater; gave the husks a bountiful sprinkling and 
fed them the last thing at night, instead of feeding them in the morning, as 
formerly. I think if I had tried this plan years ago I should have saved a 
great amount of fodder that was throAvn out and trodden under foot. 

Foul Foot in a Cow.— Coavs and horses are subject to a disease of the 
feet similar to scratches in horses. Diseased granulations, similar in ap¬ 
pearance to the heart of a cauliflower, break out and excrete a thin acrid 
matter. The treatment should be, to dress the diseased part with caustics, 
such as poAvdered sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) or sulphate of zinc 
(white vitriol), rubbed up smoothly, Avith clean, SAveet lard, and give the 
animal repeated doses of one ounce hyposulphite of soda, as an alterative. 
The soda should be given every other day for a week or ten days. 

Kicking Cows. —A Avriter says he once had a very valuable heifer 
which was an exceedingly vicious kicker. To cure her of the habit, he put a 
common garden hoe end in front of her off hind leg, and behind and above 
the gambrel joint of the nigh hind leg. Then sitting down on the right to 
milk, he put the handle cf the hoe well up under his arm and began milk¬ 
ing. The heifer could not stir either hind leg, and after one week she could 
be milked safely without fettering, and proved to be a valuable and gentle 
animal. 

Warm Water for Cows. —Warm water is an excellent thing for coavs 
giving milk; it is as good as two or three quarts of meal a day; but if you 
mix meal and shorts Avith it coavs must be alloAvanced, as they will drink too 
much—enough to diminish the flow of milk. The quantity will vary with 
the character of feed and the coav. A little good judgment is a nice thing 
here, as everyAvhere else. 

Roots for Stock. —The value of roots for stock is not appreciated to the 
extent that it should be. In the rotation of crops in England turnips rank 


172 FARM. 

high, ahd it is not uncommon for a farmer to devote from twenty to fifty acres 
to this crop. Cattle are kept there in fine condition in winter on raw turnips, 
and the latter also make excellent food for sheep. On rich land the crop 
produces very largely, and a comparatively small space is sufficient for or¬ 
dinary wants. 

•Tumping Cattle. — 1 To stop a cow or steer from jumping over fences nail 
a horseshoe on one forward foot. This prevents the hoof from spreading, 
and consequently renders the animal unable to spring. This is-calculated 
to be very effectual. 

Mixing Hay for Stock. —A mixture of one-tliird clover hay with timothy 
and redtop is recommended for any kind of stock. This mixture, it is said, 
will produce more milk, more growth, and more fat in stock than clear timo¬ 
thy and redtop. 

Proportions of Food. —A milch cow, on the average, requires daily three 
per cent, of her weight in hay to keep her in health, an ox two per cent., or 
two and a half per cent, if working moderately. An ox fatting, five per cent, 
at first, and four and a half per cent, when half fat; sheep three and a half 
per cent, to keep in store order. If other food is substituted for hay, or a 
part of it, its comparative value as a nutriment must be ascertained. Thus, 
eight pounds of potatoes are equal to four pounds of good hay, while 
eight pounds of turnips are only equal to one and three-fifths pounds of 
hay. 

Carrots for Stock. —It is asserted, by those who have tested the matter, 
that for stock-feeding an acre of carrots is worth about two hundred per 
cent, more than the same ground will do in grass. This will pay for increased 
expense of cultivation, and leave a fair margin of extra profit. Cattle take 
readily to carrots as a portion of their daily food, and the lax*ge yield per 
acre should make them a greater favorite with farmers than they generally 
are. The thinning and weeding appear to be a great drawback to their more 
general cultivation. But with this expense the crop pays well. 

Celery Tops for Cows. —A writer in an Australian paper states that in 
many instances the leaves of celery are highly esteemed as food for milch 
cows, and are often preierred to red clover. The cows are said to eat them 
greedily, and to yield on this food a far richer milk than on any other. Some¬ 
times leaves are cut up small, scalded with hot water, and given as a mash 
mixed with bran, and sometimes they are fed whole in their natural state 
along with the other ordinary food 

The Best Feed for Cattle. —We have seen pumpkins fed quite froely 
with excellent result in quantity and quality of milk; but it is not fit or eco¬ 
nomical to feed too largely of any one food. Potatoes fed in moderation are 
excellent for milk; but given in too great a quantity they will reduce the 
yield. Turnips or beets must not be given too liberally; corn fodder, given 
as a sole ration, is unprofitable; but fed with half pasture will keep up the 
yield of milk and add largely to the profit of the season. 

Phosphates for Cattle— A natural instinct leads cattle to eat bones 
when their pastures are deficient in lime or phosphates of lime. If these 
bones are brought home and reduced to a fine powder, mixed with salt, and 
placed in a box or boxes fixed in the barn-yard, the cows will lick them and 


LIVE STOCK. 


173 


derive very great benefit from them. This will save their teeth, and prevent 
them from choking themselves, as they might readily do with a piece of bone. 
Those who have no old bones should purchase a few, and treat them in the 
way indicated. 

Straw and Bran. —Professor Henry, of the Wisconsin Experimental 
Farm , holds that it is wise economy on the part of the farmer who has a 
great straw stack, and small herd of cattle, and some hay, and who will not 
enlarge his herd, to sell the hay at $7 or $8 per ton, and spend the money in 
buying bran at $11 and $12, and teed it with the straw, together with some oil- 
meal. Good bright straw is made equal to hay by the addition of the protein 
in the bran and meal, and the whole is thus made into a far better quality of 
manure than usually comes from the usual way of feeding the hay, and half 
washing the straw. 

Feeding Bran witli Meal. —For winter feeding, where cattle are kept 
in stalls and heavily fed, there is no better divisor for corn meal than wheat 
bran. It is also cheap, and furnishes what the corn meal lacks. When cat¬ 
tle are fed on corn meal as the principal food for fattening, it is apt to clog 
if fed in too large quantities; hence, our best feedex-s are in the habit of using 
bran as the cheapest and best means for rendering the meal fed more di¬ 
gestible. 

Rings on Cows ' 1 Horns. —The first ring appears when the bovine is two 
years of age, and sometimes before. The ring gradually increases during 
the third year, and is fully formed at three years; the second ring appears 
during the fourth year, and is complete at the end of the fifth year; after 
that one additional ring is formed each year. A cow with three rings is six 
years old; with four, seven years old. After nine or ten years the rings are 
no indication of the age. 

# 

Care of Oxen. —Oxen that work on frozen roads, although there is no ice, 
should be shod. The rough, hard surface wears down the hoofs very fast, 
and causes inflammation of the interior; the trouble may not become appar¬ 
ent until later, Avhen the mischief is difficult to repair. If the feet are tender 
and hot, and a slight lameness is perceived, examine the hoofs between the 
claws, cleanse the feet, and apply the needful remedies without delay, and 
so save trouble in the future. 

To Exterminate Rats and Mice —An English agricultural papersays: 
“Several correspondents write to announce the complete extirpation of rats 
and mice from their cow-stalls and piggeries since the adoption of' this sim¬ 
ple plan: A mixture of two parts of well-bruised common squills and three 
parts of finely chopped bacon is made into a stiff mass, with as much meal as 
may be required, and then baked into small cakes, which are put down for 
the rats to eat.” 

Garget in Cows. —It is said that eight drops of tincture of aconite dropped 
on a piece of bread and mixed with the food at night, and next morning four 
drops more given in the same manner, will generally complete the cure of 
garget in cows. 

Scours in Calves.—For scours in calves, a raw egg broken into their 
milk is the most effectual remedy. A piece of rennet soaked in milk is alsq 
good, but we prefer the raw egg. 





174 


TI1E FARM. 


A Winter Piggery.->Tho object sought in the erection of this piggery 
is to secure a neat, clean, cheap and comfortable shelter for young pigs. The 
structure is thirty feet long, six feet wide, five and a half feet high in front, 
and four feet high at the rear. The roof slopes only one way, and projects 
fifteen inches, to throw water away from the pens. First make the spot on 

which it is to be built a foot higher than the natu¬ 
ral surface, with stiff, good clay soil. Gravel 
must be put on this several inches deep. Set 
round white oak posts a few inches in the ground 
at every corner of each pen or division. Nail on, 
with double-ten nails, scantling, two by four 
inches. Board up with vertical boarding, one by 
twelve inches. Cover the roof of building with 
the same material, and make slatted divisions for 
the pens inside. Our illustration shows the trough 
into which slops and water are poured from the 
outside. These have a one-inch hole at one end, 
with peg to let off surplus water in cleaning. A 
piggery of this size will hold from ten to thirty, 
according to size and age. It should be built 
facing the south, so as to allow as much sunshine 
as possible to enter the doors. Whitewash the 
inner apartments for health; also the outside, 
which gives the structure a pleasant appearance. 
The ornamental verge board is sawed out of one- 
inch plank a foot wide, and a one-inch auger hole 
put through the center of the figure, as shown in 
the cut. The rafters project a foot over the front, 
which proves a solid basis upon which to nail the 
verge board. A little Venetian red in some lime 
is good to color the verge board, the corners and 
doors. The doors are made of open slat-work, 
and are furnished with small chains for fastening, 
and strap hinges. This piggery can be built for 
about $35. 


* 

pj 

w 


Ph 

Pi 

W 

H 


Will it Pay to Steam Fodder? —Taking the 

word fodder in its broadest sense, says the Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist, as any kind of food for gra- 
nivorous animals, we may say that it will always 
pay to steam or cook feed for swine, and often for 
cows, in stables containing twenty-five head or 
more, -while for sheep and horses it will be of 
doubtful expediency, and usually not advisable 
under any circumstances. The cooking of feed 
for fattening swine is so important as a matter of 
economy, that it will pay, even though done with 
little regard to the saving of labor and fuel. On the other hand, to cook the 
feed for neat cattle with profit, not only should thero be animals enough to 
make it pay, but the rations should be so carefully planned, that by min¬ 
gling of palatable, with less relished and coarse fodder, a saving may be ef¬ 
fected in that way. Besides the object for which the cattle are kept, is an 
important factor to be considered in the feeding. 





















































































LIVE STOCK. 


175 


♦ 


The flow of milk is increased by steaming the fodder—the color of the 
butter is, however, injured. The same ration will prove more fattening, 
while, at the same time, there will be little or no waste, if the steam is well 
managed. It is best to have the steamed ration composed of a variety of 
feed, such as corn-fodder roots, hay or oat straw, with bran and corn meal, 
or cotton-seed, or linseed-cake, or meal. The substitution of one kind of 
fodder or meal for another, gives variety and relish. The coarse fodder is 
cooked soft, and the flavor of the roots and of the meal pervades the mass. 
It is not likely that any of the small agricultural steamers can be made to 
economically cook the food for as many as twenty-five or thirty head of cattle. 
When a boiler of several horse-power is employed to do other work, as 
pumping, thrashing, sawing wood, grinding, cutting hay and corn fodder, 
etc., steam may be economically used for cooking fodder. Of this there can 
be little doubt. The steam box in which the fodder is placed for cooking, if 
it is big enough, need not be filled oftener than twice a week, and if, as already 
intimated, every pains is taken in the operation to save in the items of labor 
and fuel, steaming fodder 
for cattle will be found 
profitable. 

Convenient Trough.— 

This trough is designed 
more especially for an out¬ 
door or field trough for sum¬ 
mer and fall use. It is very 
desirable with many to feed 
their swine outside of pens 
in those seasons, and eveiy 
farmer is aware that it is 
almost a necessity to have 
the trough arranged to keep 
the swine away, both from 
the person who feeds them convenient trough. 

and from the receptacle into 

which their food is placed while the latter is being prepared. The trough 
which we illustrate is adapted very perfectly to this purpose. It may form 
part of the fence, so that the swine cannot come to the rear, from which side 
the food is placed in it, and the additional advantage is the shelter of both 
trough and animals from storms. 

The cut requires little explanation. The cover is hung on pins and 
fastened by a hook and staple on the rear side to keep it down. When food 
is to be placed in the trough the hook is unfastened and the cover lifted up 
in the position shown by the dotted lines. By this movement the swine are 
completely shut away, and it is very convenient to place and mix their food. 
A slight effort brings the cover back to its place, and they can then “ go in.” 
Perhaps sheep feeders might take a useful hint from this plan. 

Pig Raising. —We will suppose that the farmer has a litter of good, 
healthy pigs of good stock, one day old. He congratulates himself that, 
having escaped the dangers which are so thick at the critical period of far¬ 
rowing, he will have no further trouble. The pigs are lively, and well de¬ 
veloped; the mother shows no disposition to eat them, and is careful not to 
overlie them. There are still two dangers right before the pig raiser 


























17G 


THE FARM. 


into v-'kich be may ignorantly run— but which may be easily avoided—which 
have caused the death of pigs by the million. The first is overfeeding the 
sow with rich, heat-producing feed. I think there is no one cause that has 
occasioned so much loss as this. Make it an invariable rule to feed sparingly 
of corn for the first week. A failure to pay close attention to the matter of 
diet at this time will often result in fever, which dries up the milk, the in¬ 
sufficiency of which actually starves the pigs to death. When the result is 
not so bad as this, the sow loses appetite, runs down rapidly in flesh, and 
although the pigs live they do not thrive, and before weaning the mother is 
a skeleton. For the first week feed house slops and bran, with but one ear 
of corn at a feed, and then increase gradually, and by the end of the second 
week you can feed as heavily as you please. The second danger to young 
pigs is that they become diseased for want of exercise. It the sow is kept in 
a close pen and proves to be a good suckler, it is often the case that in two 
or three weeks the pigs get so fat as to die. Many a farmer, Avith a valuable 
litter of pigs shut up in a close pen, has seen them die one after the other 
until the litter disappeared, and yet he had no idea what Avas the matter. 
Lay it down, then, as a second rule in pig raising, that young pigs must have 
exercise. 

Still another important thing is a clean bed. If alloAved to sleep in dust 
they are likely to die of thumps, and if in a wet place or a manure pile, they 
become mangy, or contract colds and die. But Ave AA'ill suppose that the 
farmer is AA T ise enough to guard against the dangers I have spoken of, and 
has brought the litter safely to the age of four Aveeks, Avith the mother in 
good condition, and having a good appetite. It is uoav time to begin to pre¬ 
pare the pigs for Aveaning. Make a pen near Avliere you feed the soav, 
and arrange it so that the pigs can go in and out at pleasure, but let it not 
be accessible to the sow, and begin feeding with milk and soaked corn. The 
quantity must be very small at first, and only Avkat they Avill eat clean. In¬ 
crease gradually, and by the time they are eight weeks old they will be eat¬ 
ing enough so that they can be Aveaned without checking their growth. If, 
as is often the case, there are in the litter two or three pigs that are not quite 
up to the average, it Avill be good, both for them and the sows, to let them 
run Avith the mother a Aveek or two longer than the remainder of the litter. 
For four months after Aveaning feed liberally. No matter Avhetker your pigs 
are to be kept for breeders, fattened the first fall, or Avintered over to be 
pastured the next summer and fed the second autumn, the treatment should 
be the same. Do not aim to make them fat, but get all the development of 
bone and muscle you can. The food should not be com exclusively, for Afe 
want more of the flesh-formers, and they should have the run of pasture, 
and be fed on bran slop with the corn. Exercise, a varied diet, Avith part 
bulky food and not too much corn, Avill give a profitable hog. 

Overfeeding Stock. —Overfeeding an animal is Avorse in its effects than 
a spare diet. A great many more young animals are checked in their 
growth, and otherwise injured, by overfeeding than by a deficiency of food. 
In illustration of this statement, a correspondent tells the folloAving story of 
his own experience: 

A rather opinionated and willful hired man, Avho requires the closest 
Avatcking in feeding the stock, in defiance of strict orders, ga\ r e some Berk¬ 
shire pigs some cotton seed meal in their feed, in the expectation that it 
would help them to groAv. Their feed had been skimmed milk, Avith a quart 
pf Ayheat middlings to the pailful. Considerable more eotton seed meal Avas 


LIVE STOCK. 


177 


added to the feed during my absence from home for a day and night, and on 
my return the next day two of the young pigs were taken with convulsions 
and severe spasms. They died the next day, Avhen two more were taken, 
and soon after two more. The whole six died in the same way. Fix-st they 
slowly turned around and around, then stood with the head in a corner and 
pressed against the wall or yard fence; the jaws were chopped together, and 
they foamed at the mouth. After a few hours they lay upon their sides and 
struggled violently with the legs until they died. A close of lard oil allayed 
the symptoms for a time, and had it been given at fii’st, would probably have 
saved them. On opening them the lxxngs were found congested and very red 
in patches, and the brain, also, was much congested, the blood vessels being 
dark blue. The stomach and intestines wei*e filled with cotton seed meal, 
the milk having been digested. So short a case of indigestion, or stomach 
staggers, as it is popularly called, is rare; but the pigs were but two months 
old, and had probably been misfed previously. 

A Convenient Feeding Trough. —We give an illustration of a con¬ 
venient trough for feeding hogs or sheep. It is especially well designed for 
feeding hogs, and may be placed in the pen, the swing door above the 
trough forming one side. 

If desirable to use it out 
of doors, it may form part 
of a fence. The construc¬ 
tion is simple. Two up¬ 
right board standards, 
about four feet high, are 
nailed to the ends of the 
trough to support a swing 
door or partition, which is 
adjusted so that the lower 
edge plays back and forth 
just over the top of the 
trough. The view given is a convenient feeding trough. 

of the rear side of the 

trough, and the partition is swung forward to shut the animals away while 
their food is being prepared. When ready, the slide is withdrawn, the par¬ 
tition swings over the rear side, and the hogs can “go in.” Slats of wood 
should be placed across the trough to keep the animals from standing in it. 
By swinging the partition high enoxxgh, the hogs may pass under. 

Sanitary Management of Swine._One great fault in the manage¬ 
ment is to keep too many hogs together in one shed or inclosure. From 
want of proper pi’otection in the way of housing, hogs are very apt to crowd 
together in bunches during cold weather; and, coming into the sheds wet 
and dirty, and being obliged to lie either on old and filthy straw bedding or 
on a wet and damp floor, their sweating and steaming soon produces a foul 
atmosphere, and the bedding, not being removed at proper intei’vals, gets 
rotten, and adds to contamination of the air. Being thus packed together in 
the building, the hogs, in a warm and perspiring condition, are next exposed 
to the influence of cold winds and wet, by being turned out in the morning 
hours to run in the field among grass Avet Avith cold deAV or from rain or 
hoar-frost, or to be fed from troughs iu the yard. Among the common con¬ 
sequences are congestion, cold or catarrh, and, if the so-called hog cholera 












































178 


THE FARM. 


happens to be prevailing, they are almost certain to be affected with that 
disease, as their systems, under such management, are rendered predisposed 
or susceptible thereto. In many places the hogs are kept in miserable sheds, 
no provision being made for proper drainage, the ground sloping toward the 
sheds, which frequently being unpaved, or without proper flooring, are con¬ 
stantly damp and wet, while pools of urine and filth abound, and with wind 
and sleet approaching from all quarters. In proportion as the standard of 
breeding has become higher, so has the vital force, energy, and hardiness 
become lessened; and the effects of improper quantity and quality of food, 
filthy or stagnant water, faulty construction of houses, and undue exposure 
to atmospheric influences, have become proportionately more baneful. 

A Good Pig Sty. —We furnish herewith a plan for a good pig sty, with a 
detailed description showing the best manner of constructing the same. Our 
illustration represents the ground floor, 25 feet wide by 32 feet long. A is an 
entry five feet wide, running the whole length of the building, with a door 
at each end; it is used for feeding, as the troughs in boxes b, b, b, b, run 
along one side of it. The roof extends only over the enti*y (a) and the boxes 

b, b, b, b. The boxes c, 

c, c, c, are not under the 
roof. The whole building 
is floored with plank, with 
a slight'depressionin grade 
toward the front of about 
half an inch to the foot, for 
the purpose of drainage. 
The inside partitions need 
not be more than about 
four feet high. The small 
door between b and c is 
hung by hinges from the 
top, so as to open either 
way, made to work easy, 

not reaching quite to the floor. The pig soon learns to push it open and 
pass through, and the door closes after it. When pigs are put into the 
boxes, one corner of the box floor (c) should be made icet, and the pigs will 
be careful not to wet anywhere else. O, o, o, o, are feeding troughs. The 
height of the building should be seven or eight feet. No bedding is required. 
Keep the floor clean. 

Hog Cholera.— The Lewistown Gazette, published in Fulton County, Ill., 
says: “Every paper in the United States ought occasionally to keep the fact 
before its readers that burnt corn is a certain and speedy cure for hog chol¬ 
era. The best way is to make a pile of corn on the cobs, effectually scorch 
it, and then give the affected hogs free access to it. This remedy was dis¬ 
covered by E. E. Lock at the time his distillery in this county was burned, 
together with a large lot of store corn, which was so much injured as to be 
unfit for use, and was hauled out and greedily eaten by the hogs, several of 
which were dying daily. After the second day not a single hog was lost, 
and the disease was entirely conquered. The remedy has been tried in a 
number of cases since, and never failed.” 

The Washington (Iowa) Gazette says Mr. Donahey, of that place, furnishes 
the following recipe for the cure of hog cholera: To prevent hogs from hav- 


. 

'■ : 

-nr 

c 

i i 

: <*>: 


b 

Id 

Id 

Id 

o 

o 

o 

o 

a : 


A GOOD PIG STY. 












L I VE S TO CK. 179 

ing cholera, quinsy, or pneumonia, use one gallon of soft soap, four ounces of 
saltpetre, and half a pound of copperas. Mix well in swill, and feed to about 
01 ty hogs in one day. In four or five days give the following: Carbolic acid, 
eight drams, black antimony, two ounces, half pound of sulphur. Mix 
well in swill, and feed to about forty hogs in two days. Repeat the above 
once a month, and it will prevent any of the above diseases. I have used it 
for ten years without a single case of any disease among my hogs. 

A simple cure for hog cholera, says “the Kentucky Lice Stock Record, is 
an infusion of peach-tree leaves and small twigs in boiling water, given in 
their slop. Peach leaves are laxative, and they probably exert, to a moderate 
extent, a sedative influence over the nervous system. They have been used 
as a worm destroyer with reported success. They have also been recom¬ 
mended as an infusion for irritability of the bladder, in sick stomach and 
whooping cough. The cases of fatal poisoning from their use in children are 
on record, as peach leaves contain prussic or hydrocyanic acid, but as it is 
almost impossible to poison a hog, their use would not be objectionable. The 
specific is worth a trial. 

The report of the Georgia Agricultural Department has a statement to the 
effect that forty cases of hog cholera were averted, if not cured, by turning 
the animals on to a quarter of an acre of clover, to graze for one week. It 
has long been held that this disease springs mainly from malnutrition, and 
too much feeding on corn or other carbonaceous food. The fact that clover 
—a nitrogenous fodder—in this case averted the threatened disease is of 
great interest. The culture and use of clover in the South may through this 
knowledge be greatly extended. 

Nancy Agree, of Missouri, some years since claimed the $10,000 premium 
offered by the legislature of that State for a cure for hog cholera. Her spe¬ 
cific is as follows: “ Take inside bark of the wild cherry tree and boil it down 
with water so as to make a strong solution, and give it to the hogs to drink, 
excluding them from water. It has proven a perfect cure, even in the last 
stages of the disease. I also recommend an admixture of the root of the 
bull nettle.” 

A correspondent of the Journal of Agriculture recommends a half tea¬ 
spoonful of carbolic acid in a gill of milk. This remedy, ho states, has been 
successful in every case and not only cures but stops the spread of the dis¬ 
ease. It is administered from the mouth of a long-necked bottle. 

Tlie Pig as a Plowman.— -Farmers everywhere, says the American 
Agriculturist, are influenced by the construction of railroads and other means 
of quick transportation, but none of them more so than those who grow meat 
as a branch of their farm operations. The pork-raisers in the older States 
come in competition with the swine products of the prairie States, where 
the pig is a condenser of the corn crop, and among the most economical 
methods of sending that cereal to market—yet even with cheap freights, it 
will not do for Eastern farmers to abandon the sty, and look to the West for 
their salt pork and hams. There are economies to be practiced in swine 
raising that will make the Eastern farmer successful in his competition with 
the West. He has the protection of freights over long distances which can 
never be very much reduced. The home market will always be remunera¬ 
tive, so long as pork products are in demand. His lands need manure, and 
that which is made in the sty and under cover, is among the best of the home 
made fertilizers. Herding swine upon pasture, or old meadow, that needs 
breaking up, is not very much practiced, but is one of the best methods of 


180 


THE FARM. 


raising pigs. They are as easily confined within a movable fence as sheep, 
utilize the grass and coarse feed quite as well, and perform a work in stir¬ 
ring the soil that sheep cannot do. The nose of the pig is made for rooting, 
and we follow Nature’s hint in giving him a chance to stir the soil. A mova¬ 
ble yard, large enough to keep two pigs, can be made of stout inch boards, 
about fourteen feet long, and six inches wide. For the corner posts use two 
by four inch joists. Nail the boards to the posts six inches apart, making 
four lengths or panels four feet high. Fasten the corners with stout hooks 
and staples, and you have a pen or yard fourteen feet square, which is easily 
moved by two men. If you place two fifty-pound pigs into this yard they 
will consume nearly all the grass and other vegetation in it in three or four 
days, and thoroughly disturb the soil several inches in depth. When they 
have done their work satisfactorily, the pen can be moved to the adjoining 
plat, and so onward through the season. The advantages of this method 
are, that it utilizes the grass and other vegetation, destroys weeds and in¬ 
sects, mixes and fertilizes the surface of the soil about as well as the ordi¬ 
nary implements of tillage. In the movable yard there is thorough work. 
Even ferns and small brush are effectually destroyed. Worms and bugs are 
available food for the pig. And it is not the least of the benefits that the 
small stones, if they are in the soil, are brought to the surface, where they 
can be seen and removed. The pig’s snout is the primitive plow and crow¬ 
bar, ordained of old. No longer jewel this instrument, but put it where it 
will do the most good, in breaking up old sod ground, and help make cheap 
pork. 

Charcoal for Hogs— -We have hut little doubt that charcoal is one of 
the best known remedies for the disordered state into which hogs drill, usu¬ 
ally having disordered bowels, all the time giving off the worst kind of evacu¬ 
ations. Probably the best form in which charcoal can be given is in the 
form of burnt corn—perhaps, because when given in other forms the hogs do 
not get enough. A distillery was burned in Illinois, about which a large 
number of hogs were kept. Cholera prevailed among these hogs somewhat 
extensively. In the burning of buildings a large amount of corn was con¬ 
sumed. To this burned and partially burned corn, the hogs had access at 
will, and the sick commenced recovering at once and a large portion of them 
got well. Many farmers have x>racticed feeding scorched corn, putting it 
into the stove or building a firo upon the ground, placing the ears of corn 
upon it, leaving them till pretty well charred. Hogs fed on still slops are 
liable to be attacked by irritation of the stomach and bowels, coming from 
• too free generation of acid, from fermentation of food after eaten. Charcoal, 
whether it be produced by burning corn or wood, will neutralize the acid, in 
this way removing the irritating cause. The charcoal will be relished to the 
extent of getting rid of the acid, and beyond that it may not be. Hence it is 
well to let the wants of the hog be settled by the hog himself. 

Iron Hog Troughs —Upon the subject of the best material for hog 
troughs, a writer says: “ I make them out of iron, not out of iron-wood, but 
cast iron. I grappled with this problem a half dozen years ago and mas¬ 
tered it. I became an inventor. I had an invention put into the form of a 
model and got the proprietor of an iron foundry to cast eight troughs after 
the model. They were put into the different pens and they are there now, 
bright, clean, smooth, sound, and all right, and I expect to leave them just 
in this shape to my heirs. The model cost $18, and the troughs 6 cents a 


LIVE STOCK. 181 

pound, and they weighed an average of at least 100 pounds. The spout is 
cast with the trough in one solid piece, and there are also feet cast and at* 
tached, by which it is fastened to the floor. The corners are made rounding 
and so is the bottom, so that freezing does not crack them, as the ice does 
not press against the corners or sides, but around the whole. They are 
easily cleaned out, as the sloping sides allow the dirt to slide out before a 
broom, are always in place, and will never wear out. The wear and waste 
and annoyance of modern troughs became unbearable. Now I contemplate 
this part of farm experience with a feeling akin to perfect satisfaction. The 
trough is not patented.” 


Phosphates Essential to Pigs. —Experiments made by Lehman upon 
young animals showed that food containing an insufficient amount of phos¬ 
phates not only affects the formation of the skeleton, but has an essential in¬ 
fluence upon its separate parts. A young pig was fed one hundred and 
twenty-six days upon potatoes alone; a result of this insufficient food, ra¬ 
chitis (rickets, or softening of the bone). Other pigs, from the same litter, 
fed upon potatoes, leach-out-meat, and additional phosphates, for the same 
length of time, had a normal skeleton; yet even in these animals there was 
a difference according to the kind of phosphate 
added. Two that were fed on phosphate of pot¬ 
ash had porous bones, specifically lighter than 
the others, which were fed upon phosphate and 
carbonate of lime. 

Pig Scraping Table. —This table can easily 
be made by a handy man. It is formed by bars 
of wood fixed into a frame. By using a table of 
this description when scraping pigs, the water 
and hair fall to the ground, and the latter is ef- PIG scraping table. 
fectually disposed of. It is a simple arrange¬ 
ment, and its construction and use will materially aid in neatness and de¬ 
spatch. 



Preparing Pood for Swine. —A writer gives the following opinion: 
“ The present practice with the greater number, I believe, is to prepare food 
for pigs either by steeping, steaming, or boiling, under the belief that cook¬ 
ing in any shape is better than giving in the raw state. I am not at present 
prepared to say definitely what other kinds of food may do, raw or cooked, 
with pigs or other domesticated animals, or how the other animals would 
thrive Avith peas or corn, raw or boiled; but I now assert on the strongest 
possible grounds—by evidence indisputable, again and again proved by 
actual trials in various temperatures, with a variety of the same animals, 
variously conducted—that for fast and cheap production of pork, raw peas 
are fifty per cent, better than cooked peas or Indian corn in any shape.” 


Hogs a-s Producers of Manure. —One hog, kept to the age of one year, 
if furnished with suitable material, will convert a cartload per month into a 
fertilizer which will produce a good crop of corn. Twelve loads per year 
multiplied by the number of hogs usually kept by our farmers would make 
sufficient fertilizing substance to grow the corn used by them; or, in other 
words, the hog would pay in manure its keeping. In this way we can afford 
to make pork at low prices, but in no other way can it be done without loss 
to the farmer 



182 


THE FARM. 


Swine Raising. —The American Agriculturist contains the following 
sensible advice regarding the raising of swine: Pure air helps to make 
pure blood, which, in the course of nature, builds up healthful bodies. 
Out-of-door pigs would not show so well at the fairs, and would proba¬ 
bly be passed over by judges and people who have been taught to ad¬ 
mire only the fat and helpless things which get the prizes. Such pigs 
are well adapted to till lard kegs, whereas the standard of peid'ection should 
he a pig which will make the most ham with the least Avaste of fat, the long¬ 
est and deepest sides, with the most lean meat; it should ha\ r e hone enough 
to alloAV it to stand up and help itself to food, and carry Avdth it the eAudence 
of healthy and natural development in all its parts. Pigs which run in a 
range or pasture have good appetites—the fresh air and exercise give them 
this—hence they Avill eat a great variety of food and much coarser than Avhen 
confined in pens. Nothing need go to waste on the farm for lack of a market. 
They Avill consume all the refuse fruits, roots, pumpkins, and all kinds ol 
vegetables, Avhich will make them groAV. By extending the root patch and 
planting the fodder corn thinner, so that nubbins AA'ill form on it, and by 
putting in a SAveet variety, the number of pigs may be increased in propor¬ 
tion. A few bushels of corn at the end of the season Avill be ready the next 
year for any crop, and ten times the advantage accrue to the farm than if as 
the pigs are usually managed. 

Rone Meal for Strengthening Hogs. —Most farmers have noticed 
that in fattening swine, especially when they are croAvded rapidly, they 
ahvays appear Aveak in their hind legs, and sometimes lose the use of them 
entirely. An intelligent farmer says that he and his neighbors have made a 
practice'of feeding hone meal in such cases, and find that a small quantity 
mixed Avitli the daily feed Avill prevent any weakness, and strengthen the 
animals so as to admit of the most rapid forcing. As bone meal is known to 
be a preventive of cripple ail and weakness in coavs, it looks reasonable that 
it should also be a benefit to hogs, which are often confined to a diet con¬ 
taining hut little bone-making material. 

Keeping Ilogs Clean —The floor of a hog pen should be of plank. The 
pen and hogs can then be kept clean. If the animals are permitted to root 
up the floor of the pen and burrow in the earth, they Avill ahvays be in an 
uncleanly and unwholesome condition, and much food Avill be Avasted. It is 
quite unnecessary for either the comfort or health of the hogs to let them 
exercise their natural propensity to root in the ground. The exercise is 
really a Avaste of food and takes so much from their growth. Hogs A\ T ill fat¬ 
ten most quickly Avhen they eat and sleep and remain perfectly quiet, as they 
will do in a dry, Avarm pen, Avith a clean plank floor, and bedding of clean 
straw and plenty to eat. 

How to Give a. Pig Medicine— At a recent meeting of an English 
Farmers’ Club, Professor McBride spoke of the difficulty of administering 
medicine to a pig. He said: “ To dose a pig, Avliich you are sure to choke 
if you attempt to make him drink while squealing, halter him as you Avould 
for execution, and tie the rope end to a stake. He Avill pull back until the 
rope is tightly strained. When he has ceased his uproar, and begins to 
reflect, approach him, and between the back part of his jaws insert an old- 
shoe, from Avhich you have cut the toe leather. This he will at once begin 
to suck and chew. Through it pour your medicime and he will swallow any 
quantity you please.” 


LIVE STOCK. 


183 


Hay for Hogs. —Very few are aware of the fact that hay is very bene¬ 
ficial to hogs; but it is true, nevertheless. Hogs need rough food as well as 
horses, cattle or the human race. To prepare it you should have a cutting- 
box (or hay cutter), and the greener the hay the better. Cut the hay short 
and mix with bi’an, shorts or middlings, and feed as other food. Hogs soon 
learn to like it, and if soaked in swill or other slop food, it is highly relished 
by them. In winter use for hogs the same hay you feed to your horses, and 
you will find that, while it saves bran, shorts or other food, it puts on flesh 
as rapidly as anything that can be given them. 

Paralysis in Pigs. —Piga are frequently subject to a partial paralysis of 
the nerves of the lumbar region, by which motion of the hind quarters is 
rendered difficult or impossible. It sometimes results from inflammation of 
the covering membrane of the spinal cord, caused by exposure to cold. The 
remedy is to rub turpentine or mustard paste upon the loins, and to give a 
teaspoonful of saltpetre in the food once a day. Dry pens and protection 
from rains in the hot season are the best preventives. 

Poisonous Swill. —A correspondent of the Prairie Farmer', having 
complained of a disease among his hogs, is told by another correspondent 
that the symptoms are similar to those of hogs of his own, which he is satis¬ 
fied died from eating swill that had become poisoned by standing too long. 
He says: “ Chemists say that when swill stands a certain length of time 
after it has soured, it becomes poisonous. I don’t know that this is so, but I 
do know that I shall not feed any more old swill.” 

Roots for Hogs. —Parsnips, carrots, Swedish hirnips, and especially 
mangel-wurtzels, Avill all fatten pigs. The roots ought not to be given in a 
raw state, but always cooked and mixed with beans, peas, Indian corn, oats, 
or barley, all of which must be ground into meal. When pigs are fed on 
such cooked food as we have stated, the pork acquires a peculiarly rich 
flavor, and is much esteemed, especially for family use. 

Economy in Hog Raising. —One man who let his hogs run on grass 
and artichokes all summer, was sure that his hogs paid him from fifty to 
sixty cents per bushel for the corn they consumed (not counting anything 
for the grass). Another man, who kept his hogs in a pen all summer with¬ 
out anything but corn and water, did not realize more than ten or fifteen 
cents per bushel for the com consumed. 

Water for Hogs. —Hogs require free access to water in the summer 
time. If they can have a place to bathe or wallow in, it is beneficial to them, 
as it cools and cleanses the skin. Mud is not filth—it is a good disinfectant 
and healthful. Sometimes mud baths have been found useful as medicinal 
treatment for sick people. 

Scurvy Pigs. —It is said by a farmer who has tried the experiment so 
often as to be sure of his ground, that buttermilk poured over the back of a 
scurvy pig will entirely and speedily remove tho scurf. The remedy is 
simple. 

Squash for- Fattening Hogs. —A New York farmer declares that an 
acre of Hubbard squash will fatten ten more hogs than the corn that can be 
raised on the same ground. He has gathered from six to eight tons from an 
acre. 


THE FARM 


is4 


Hurdling Slieep.—The accompanying illustration shows how an Eng¬ 
lishman fed his sheep on an irrigated pasture, by the use of hurdles of 



a peculiar description. The hurdles are twelve feet long and are made with 
a stout pole bored with two series of holes twelves inches apart; stakes six 
feet long are put into these holes so that they project from them three feet 


AN ENGLISH METHOD OF HURDLING SHEEP, 
























































































































































































































































































LI VK STOCK. 185 

on each side of the polo. One series of holes is bored in a direction at right 
angles to that of the other, and when the stakes are all properly placed they 
form a hurdle, the end of which looks like the letter X. The engraving 
shows how these hurdles are made and the method of using them. A row 
of these hurdles is placed across the field. The field in which they are used 
consists of six acres. A strip of ten feet wide is thus set off, upon which four 
hundred sheep feed. They eat up all the grass upon this strip and that 
which they can reach by putting their heads through the hurdles. The 
hurdles are then turned over, exposing another strip of rather more than 
four feet wide at each turn. When this is fed off, the hurdles are again 
turned over. The sharp points presented by the hurdles prevents any tres¬ 
passing upon the other side of them, and by using two rows of hurdles the 
sheep are kept in the narrow strip between them. Their droppings are very 
evenly spread over the field, and it is richly fertilized by them. At night 
the sheep are taken off and the grass is watered. The growth is one inch 
per day tinder this treatment, and when the field has been fed over, the 
sheep are brought back again to the starting point and commence once 
more eating their way along. 

Ra ising Feed for Slieep. —The corn raised especially for sheep should 
be planted in drills, three and one-half feet apart, and about six inches in 
the drill. It will ear sufficiently, and should be shocked when the ear is 
just passing out of the milk, in large, well-built shocks. And the most 
profitable use that can be made of this for winter feeding is, to run it 
through a cutter, directly from the shock, reducing to fine chaff, stalks, 
ears, and all. If cut one-fourth of an inch long, the sheep will eat it all 
clean; this we know from practical experience. With a large cutter, a ton 
can be cut in twenty to thirty minutes. This cut corn, fed in properly con¬ 
structed troughs, will furnish both grain and coarse fodder. The only im¬ 
provement you can make on this ration, without cooking, is to feed with it 
some more nitrogenous food, such as bran, linseed meal, or cotton seed 
meal. Wool is a nitrogenous product, and corn is too fattening a ration 
when fed alone. 

To Tell the Age of Sheep. —The books on sheep have seriously misled 
fiock-masters on this subject. Almost any sheep owner will tell you that 
after a year the sheep gets a pair of broad teeth yearly; and if you show 
that his own three-year-olds have four pairs of broad teeth, he can only 
claim that they are exceptions, and protest that they do not exceed three 
years of age. Now these cases are no exception, for all well-bred sheep 
have a lull mouth of front teeth at three years old. Some old, unimproved 
flocks may still be found in which the mouth is not full until nearly four 
years old, but fortunately these are now the exceptions, and should not be 
made the standard, as they so constantly are. In Cotswolds, Leicesters, 
Lincolns, South-Downs, Oxford-Downs, Hampshire-Downs, and even in the 
advanced Merinos, and in the grades of all of these dentition is completed 
from half a year to a year earlier. The milk or lamb teeth are easily dis¬ 
tinguished from the permanent or broad teeth by their smaller size and by 
the thickness of the jaw bone around their fangs where the permanent teeth 
are still inclosed. As tlio lamb approaches a year old, the broad exposed 
part of the tooth becomes worn away, and narrow fangs projecting above the 
gums stand apart from each other, leaving wide intervals. This is even 
more marked after the first pair of permanent teeth have come up, overlap- 


186 


TJTE FARM. 



It IIcl 11, lllt5 tilAlU. uau ^ A ~-- ~ ii 

pair at three years. It will be observed that between the appearance of the 
first two pairs there is an interval of six months, while after this each pan- 
come up nine months after its predecessors. For backward grades, and 
the unimproved breeds, the eruption is about six months later tor each 
pair of teeth, but even with them the mouth is full at three years and six 


months. 


Slieep Ticks _ How to Get Rid ofTliem —Sheep ticks are much more 

numerous and more annoying than many suppose. Men of experience with 
large flocks generally know and apply the necessary remedies, but there aie 


hundreds of farmers whose 
time and attention are 
principally directed to 
grain growing, etc., and 
who keep but a few sheep, 
whose flocks are sorely 
troubled by this parasite, 
and they never discover 
the cause of the evil. The 
accompanying engraving of 
the insect in its different 
stages, is from the Cyclo¬ 
paedia of Agriculture. 





The sheep tick or louse 
lives amongst the wool, and 


FIG. 1.—SHEEP TICKS, MAGNIFIED. 


is exceedingly annoying to lambs. Their oval, shining bodies, like the pips 
of small apples, and similar in color, may be found attached by the pointed 
end to the wool. (See engraving Fig. 1; Fig. 2, the same magnified.) These 
are not the eggs, but the pupae, which are laid by the female, and are at first 
soft and white. From these issue the ticks (Fig. 3; Fig. 4, the same magni¬ 
fied), which are horny, bristly, and dull ochre; the head is orbicular, with 
two dark eyes (Fig. 5), and a rostrum in front, enclosing three fine curved 
tubes (Fig. 6), for piercing the skin and sucking the blood. The body is 
large, leathery, purse-shaped and whitish when alive, and notched at the 
apex. The six legs are stout, very bristly, and the feet are furnished with 
strong double claws. The English remedies are a "wash of arsenic, soft 
soap and potash, decoction of tobacco, train oil with spirits of turpentine, 
and mercurial ointment. 

Ticks, when very numerous, greatly annoy and enfeeble sheep, and 
should be kept out of the flock if possible. After shearing, the heat and 
cold, the rubbing and biting of the sheep, soon drive off the tick and it takes 
refuge in the long wool of the lamb. Wait a fortnight after shearing to allow 
all to make this transfer of residence; then boil refuse tobacco leaves until 
the decoction is strong enough to kill ticks beyond a peradventure. This 
may be readily tested by experiment. Five or six pounds of cheap plug to- 







LIVE STOCK. 187 

bacco may be made to answer for one hundred lambs. The decoction is 
poured into a deep, narrow dipping tank kept for this purpose, and which 
has an inclined shelf on one side covered \flth a wooden grate, as shown in 
our illustration below (Fig. 2). One man holds the lamb by the hind legs, 
another clasps the fore legs in one hand, and shuts the other about the 
nostrils to prevent the liquid entering them, and then the lamb is entirely 
immersed. It is immediately lifted out, laid on one side on the grate, and 
the water squeezed out of its wool. It is then burned over and squeezed on 
the other side. The grate conducts the fluid back into the box. If the lambs 
are annually dipped, ticks will never trouble a flock. 

Early Lambs. —In many localities an early lamb will sell for more 
money than will the ewe and her fleece; therefore, where there is a market 
for early lambs the breeding of these is a very profitable business, if the per¬ 
son who attempts it is pro¬ 
vided with ample shelter 
and understands the man¬ 
agement of both ewes and 
lambs. 

Lambs for early market 
are bred so as to be dropped 
in February and March. 

February is a hard month to 
bring them through, and 
without judicious treatment 
and warm shelter many 
lambs will be lost. The 
chief aim is to get the lambs 
ready for market as soon as 
possible, as it is the earliest 
arrivals that gain the high¬ 
est prices. It is necessary 
to keep the dams in good 
condition with sufficient 
food to make plenty of fig. 2.—tank for dipping sheep. 

nourishing mil k. Experi¬ 
ence and judgment are required in feeding the lambs; they must have food 
enough to promote rapid, healthy growth, and yet of a character that will 
not produce scouring. While the lambs are still with the ewes, it is well to 
supply them additional food. They can soon be taught to drink milk which 
is fresh and warm from the cow. Later on, oats, rye and wheat bran finely 
ground together make an excellent feed. As a gentle laxative a few ounces 
of linseed oil-cake will be found beneficial and at the same time nourishing. 

As the lambs approach the period for weaning extra food should be in¬ 
creased; indeed, the weaning must be very gradually accomplished. The 
sudden removal of the lambs from their dams is injurious to both. A plan 
generally followed to avoid the evil effects of a sudden change, is that of 
removing the lambs to a good pasture of short, tender grass, and at night 
returning them to the fold with the ewes. The ewes must not be neglected. 
Their feed should be gradually diminished so as to diminish the yield of milk. 

How to 3Ialce Sheep Pay. —Any farmer in the Eastern or Middle 
States having a farm of one hundred acres in good fence can keep a flock of 































188 


THE FARM. 


fifty sheep and receive larger profits than from any other investment of thS 
same amount, providing they will care for them in the following manner, 
viz.: Have your sheep in good condition when you take them from pasture 
to winter. Have a sheltered pen, with plenty of room, to protect them from 
the cold and storms; have an out-yard where they can he allowed to go in 
on nice sunshiny days, in which throw cornstalks, oat or wheat straw, if you 
have plenty of it, for what the sheep do not eat will make manure, so there 
will he nothing lost. Also keep the sheltered pen dry, by throwing in straw, 
as fast as it is cut up in manure. Feed them on clover hay. If you do not 
grow any buy it, for one ton of clover hay is equal to two tons of any other 
for sheep, in my experience. Try and have your lambs dropped in January 
or February. Build a small pen alongside of your sheep pen, cut a small 
hole, so the lambs can get in, but not large enough to admit the sheep. Put 
troughs in the lambs’ pen, and feed them on ground feed. They will soon 
find the hole and learn to eat, and if you have never tried it before, you will 
be surprised how much faster they will grow, and you will also find that the 
butcher will buy your lambs earlier, and pay a larger price for them than he 
will for your neighbor’s, who does not observe the above advice. 

for stocks are indispensable 
articles of furniture in the 
sheds and yards of the farm. 
We give an engraving of one of 
these, designed especially for 
sheep. Its dimensions are 
thirty inches high, twenty- 
eight wide, bottom formed by 
nailing together four boards, 
eight or nine inches wide, in 
the shape of two troughs, or 
the letter AY, resting on the 
cross piece B. The novel feature, perhaps, is the cant boards A A, which are 
hinged and then fastened by movable braces. These boards serve as par¬ 
ticular shelter to sheep, both from storm and chaff from fodder; and by 
moving the braces they assume a vertical position, and thus keep out the 
sheep while one is filling in the grain. 

Wliy Sheep are Profitable. —Sheep are profitable for several reasons, 
among them being the small expense of maintaining a flock. By that we 
do not mean the plan pursued by many of turning them into the woods and 
fields to bo called up occasionally to be “ salted,” but they cost but little 
when cared for, because they are not choice in the matter of feeding. They 
greedily devour much that would be unserviceable, and for that reason are 
a necessary adjunct on a farm as a measure of economy. AA r here they become 
serviceable mostly is on those pastures that are deficient in long grass, and 
which are not used for making hay. It is on this short grass, even if scatter¬ 
ing, that the sheep pick up good feeding and thrive well. In fact, long 
grass is not acceptable to sheep, as they graze close to the ground. A flock 
of sheep would almost starve in a field of tall clover, and will quickly leave 
such for the privilege of feeding on the short herbage that grows in the fence 
corners, in the abandoned meadows, and among the wheat stubble. The 
crab grass, which becomes a weed on light soils, is highly relished by sheep 
when just beginning to spread out, and even the purslane is kept down by 


Feed Rack for Sheep. —Feed racks 



FEED RACK FOR SHEEP. 










LIVE STOCK. 


189 


them. Fields from which the corn has been harvested afford them much 
valuable pasturage, and they are always able to derive something for food 
on places that would support no other animal. In saying this it is not in¬ 
ferred that they require no care at the barn. They surely do, but require 
less than may be supposed. 

They are also great renovators of the soil, scattering manure evenly and 
pressing it in, thus improving the ground on which they xeed. They multiply 
rapidly, a small flock soon becoming a large one, and they produce profit in 
three directions—wool, mutton and lambs. 

Tar the Noses of Sheep —The months of July and August are the ones 
when sheep in many localities are subject to a most aggravating annoyance 
from a fly (oestrus bovis), which seems bound to deposit its larvae in the 
nostrils. It infects wooded districts and shady places where the sheep 
resort for shelter, and by its ceaseless attempts to enter the nose makes the 
poor creature almost frantic. If but one fly is in a flock they all become 
agitated and alarmed. They will assemble in groups, holding their heads 
close together and their noses to the ground. As they hear the buzzing of 
the little pest going from one to another, they will crowd their muzzles into 
the loose dirt, made by their stamping, to protect themselves, and as the 
pest succeeds in entering the nose of a victim, it will start on a run, followed 
by the whole flock, to find a retreat from its enemy, throwing its head from 
side to side, as if in the greatest agony, while the oestrus, having gained his 
lodging place, assiduously deposits its larva? in the inner margin of the nose. 
Here, aided by warmth and moisture, the eggs quickly hatch into a small 
maggot, which carrying out its instincts, begins to crawl up into the nose 
through a crooked opening in the bone. The annoyance is fearful and mad¬ 
dening, as it works its way up into the head and cavities. 

The best known remedy is tar, in which is mixed a small amount of crude 
carbolic acid. If the scent of the acid does not keep the fly away he gets 
entangled in the tar, which is kept soft by the heat of the animal. Any kind 
of tar or turpentine is useful for this purpose, and greatly promotes the com¬ 
fort of the sheep, and prevents the ravages of the bot in the head. 

Increasing the Growth of Wool —The use of chloride of potassium is 
recommended in Germany as a means of increasing the growth of wool on 
sheep. Some German chemists have made experiments with the article, 
proving that the growth of wool is promoted by its use. It is administered 
in the proportion of one part of chloride to nine parts of salt. It not only 
increases the production of wool, but improves the quality, and promotes 
the general health of the animal, w.e are told; but the proper quantities to 
administer are not stated. 

To Cur© Poisoned Sheep. —Take rue leaves, as many as you can grasp 
between thumb and forefinger. Bruise them; squeeze the juice into a half 
teacup of water, and drench the sheep with it. If the sheep are poisoned 
very bad, drench the second time, which will never fail to cure. 

Crossing Merino on Common Sheep. —A Merino ram crossed on a 
flock of common sheep will double the yield of wool through the first cross 
alone, thus paying for himself the first season. 


THE POULTRY YARD 


A. Poultry House for CHiclteus. —The poultry house we have illustrated 
is designed for young chicks. It can be attached to a coop, and is made of 
laths. It is the length of a lath and half a lath in height. 

Such an arrangement allows the mother some room to move about, and 
enables the young chicks to reach air and sun. Almost any bright boy can 
nail the laths together, and it will materially increase the chickens’ chances 
of life. Remember that the first few days are the most critical and require 
extra attention. 

More fowls are destroyed in infancy, like humans, by injudicious feeding 
than at any other time. The first four weeks’ management of the young 
chicks is everything, for no after cares can compensate for neglect during 

the critical period. For 
the first twenty-four hours 
no food should be given 
the chicks of any kind. At 
first there may be given 
hard-boiled egg, chopped 
fine. This need only be 
given for two or three days 
when the food should be 
changed to one consisting 
a poultry house for chicks. of oatmeal cooked in milk, 

to which an egg has been 
added. The second week the milk and oatmeal gruel, stiffly made, should 
be continued, and good wheat screenings allowed also. After the second 
week the food may be varied so as to consist of anything they will eat, but 
do not confine them to a single article of diet, as disease of the bowels may 
occur. Green grass, cooked vegetables and milk may be given freely. The 
chicks should not be allowed to roam outside with the hen, if possible, until 
the sun is well up, as dampness is more injurious to them than cold. When 
very young feed every two hours, as feathers, bone and meat are forming 
fast, requiring plenty of nourishment. When cleanliness is observed but 
few diseases appear. Never let a surplus of food remain after the feeding is 
over, but see that they are sufficiently supplied before taking the excess 
away, loung chicks are not troublesome to raise if a little system and care 
are practiced. 

A Model Hennery. —The breeding of new and choice varieties of poultry 
has grown to be quite an extensive industry in this country during the past 
few years, and it is not entirely confined to those who make it a business, 
either, as many of our farmers have learned, at last, that it pays to devote 
more time and attention to the raising and care of poultry than they formerly 
were willing to give to it. The model hennery herewith illustrated and de¬ 
scribed combines all the essential requisites for convenience, cleanliness, the 


























THE PO UL TP Y YARD. 195 

health of the fowls, and the separation of the different varieties, together 
with all the modern improvements, from which many good hints may be ob¬ 
tained, if not wishing to adopt the plan just as it stands. 

This building is nearly 75 feet long, 13 feet high, and 12 feet wide. It is 
built of wood, the roof shingled. To the highest pitch of the roof it is 13 



feet. The elevation or height from the ground or foundation in front is 4 
feet, which cuts a twelve-foot board into three pieces; the length or pitch of 
the roof in front is 12 feet—just the length of a board, saving a few inches of 
a ragged end; the pitch of the rear roof is 6 feet, and the height of the build¬ 
ing from the ground to the base of the roof is just 6 feet, which cuts a twelve- 
foot board into two pieces. The ground plan and frame work are planned 
on the same principles of economy of timber. By this plan no timber is 




















































































































































































































192 


THE FA EM. 


wasted, as it all cuts out clean; there is also a great saving of labor. The 
foundation of the building rests on cedar posts set four feet into the ground. 

This house contains eight pens, each one of which will accommodate from 
twenty-five to thirty fowls; each pen is nine feet long and eight feet wide. 
All the pens are divided off by wire partitions of one inch mesh. Each pen 
has a glass window on the southern front of the house, extending from the 
gutter to within one foot of the apex of the roof, fixed in permanently with 
French glass lapping over each other, after the fashion of liot-bed sashes; 
they are about eleven by three feet. Each pen is entered by a wire door six 
feet high, from the hallway, which is three feet wide; and these doors are 
carefully fastened with a brass padlock. 

The house is put together with matched boards, and the grooves of the 
boards are filled in with white lead and then driven together, so as to make 
the joints impervious to cold or wet. On the rear side of the house there are 



A MODEL, HENNERY.—END VIEW OF INTERIOR. 

four scuttles or ventilators, two by two feet, placed equidistant from each 
other, and to these are attached iron rods which fit into a slide with a screw, 
so that they can be raised to any height. These are raised, according to the 
weather, every morning, to let off the foul air. Each pen has a ventilator 
besides the trap door at the bottom, same size, which communicates with the 
pens and runs. These lower ventilators are used only in very hot weather, 
to allow a free circulation through the building, and in summer each pen is 
shaded from the extreme rays of the sun by thick shades fastened upon the 
inside, so that the inside of the house is cooler than the outside. 

The dropping boards extend the whole width of the pen, and are about 
two feet wide and sixteen inches from the floor; the roosts are about seven 
inches above and over this board. They are three inches wide and crescent- 
shaped on top, so that the fowls can rest a considerable portion of their 
bodies on the perches. Under these dropping boards are the nest boxes, 
where the fowls lay, and are shaded and secluded. The feeding and drink** 



































































THE POULTRY YARD. 


193 


ing troughs are made of galvanized iron, and hung with hooks on eyes, so 
that they can be easily removed when they require cleaning. 

One can stand at one end of this long house and see all the chickens on 
their roosts. By 
seeing each other in 
this way the fowls 
are made compan¬ 
ionable and are 
saved many a fero¬ 
cious fight; at the 
same time each kind 
is kept separate 
from the other. Each 
pen has a run 33 by 
12 and 15 feet; these 
runs are separated 
by wire fences 12 
feet high, with 
meshes of 2 inches. 

The house is sur- 
rounded with a 
drain which carries 
off all the moisture 
and water, and pre¬ 
vents dampness. In¬ 
side the house is 
cemented all 
through, and these 
cemented floors are 
covered with gravel 
two inches deep. 

The house is heated 
in the cold weather 
j^ist enough to keep 
water from freezing. 

The plan of this hen¬ 
nery is remarkable 
for its simplicity and 
hygienic arrange¬ 
ment. The cost of 
the labor and ma¬ 
terial is under $500. 

Movable Poul¬ 
try House. —Those 
who have tried mov¬ 
able poultry houses 
regard them as ex¬ 
ceedingly profitable arrangements, and very desirable. We give an illustra¬ 
tion of one in use in England, which is mounted on wheels, with a floor 
raised high enough above ground to form a dry run. It has a set of mova¬ 
ble laying nests at back, outside flap-door with lock, large door with lock, 
for attendant, small sliding door and ladder for fowls, two shitting perches, 



































































































































194 


THE FARM . 


and sliding window. The benefit birds of all description derive from change 
of place, not only arises from the pleasure every animal as well as man de¬ 
rives from changes of scene, but by being preserved from the exhalations 
emitted by excrementitious matter and decaying food. 

Model Poultry House._We give a plan of poultry house and yards, 

combining many good 



points aud conveniences. 
The building is enclosed 
with worked spruce or 
pine boards, put on ver¬ 
tically, and the height so 
arranged that each board 
will cut to avoid waste. 
All the pieces are cut off 
of the full lengths in 
front, making just half a 
rear length. The rafters 
of thirteen feet joist, with either battened or shingle roof as preferred. The 
building is supposed to face the south. The eutrance door, E, opening into 


ELEVATION.—LENGTH, 24 FEETJ WIDTH, 11 FEET; 
HEIGHT, IN FRONT, 9 1-2 FEET; HEIGHT, IN REAR, 
6 1-2 FEET. 


the passage, P, three and a half feet wide, which runs the length of the build¬ 
ing; smaller doors, D, each two feet wide, opening into the roosting room, It. 
The nests are raised about a foot from the floor, and also open into the room 
R, w r ith a hinged board in the passage, so that the eggs can be removed with¬ 
out entering the roosting rooms. The perches, A, are movable, perfectly 
level, and raised tw T o feet 


from the floor. The parti¬ 
tion walls are tight, two 
boards high, above which is 
lath; the passage wall above 
the nest, and also the doors, 
D, being of lath also. 

The roosting-rooms are 
seven and a half by eight 
feet, large enough for 
twenty-five fowls each. Win¬ 
dows are six feet square, 
raised one foot from the 
floor. We prefer the glass 
to be six by eight or seven 
by nine inches—as these 
small sizes need no protec¬ 
tion strips to prevent the 
fowls from breaking them. 
The holes, H, for egress and 



ingress of the fowls, are closed by a drop door worked by a cord and pulley 
from the passage way. Another door can be placed in the other end of the 
passage way if desirable. This arrangement of the yards, Y, of course would 
not suit every one; some w r ould prefer smaller yards, making each yard the 
width of the room and adding to its height. The house above is designed 
for only three varieties; but by simply adding to the length, any number of 
breeds may be accommodated. The simplest and most economical founda¬ 
tion is to set locust or oak posts about four feet deep, every eight feet, and 































































































































THE POULTRY YARD. 195 

spike the sills on them. There is then no heaving from frost; and all the 
underpinning necessary is a board nailed tc the sill and extending into the 
ground a couple of inches. A setting room can be added by making the 
building lour feet longer. The room should be in the end next the door so 
as to be always within notice. 

Such a house built of seasoned lumber and well battened, will shelter any 
fowls — excepting, perhaps, 
the Spanish, Leghorns, and 
a few of the more tender va¬ 
rieties—from all ordinarily 
cold weather; and we be¬ 
lieve it to be the cheapest 
and most convenient house 
for general use. 

Chicken and Duck In¬ 
closure. —We present here¬ 
with a plan for chicken or 
duck coops, with inclosures, 
which will be found very 
convenient fixtures in any 
poultry-yard. These coops 
are made so that they are 
movable, and can be con¬ 
structed by almost any one 
conversant with the use of a 
hammer and nails. Any re¬ 
fuse boards and odd pieces 
are all that are necessary to 
build them. The coops can 
be set in any desired posi¬ 
tion, then fenced in with 
boards twelve to sixteen 
inches wide, as shown in our 
engraving, with stakes driven 
in the ground on each side 
of the boards at intervals, to 
keep them from falling over. 

Put up in this manner the 
stakes can be withdrawn at 
will and the inclosure moved 
as often as desirable. For 
partitions our engraving has 
shown a light wire mesh, 
which is easy to handle and 

can be procured at a very small cost. This is fastened into position by pin¬ 
ning down with wooden pins, which, in this way, is made also movable. 

Caponizing. —Caponizing is not a very difficult operation, and any ooe 
who is blessed with the average amount of brains and common sense can 
soon learn to caponize as quickly and as successfully as an “ expert.” We 
know that some one will probably tell you that the instruments used are 
“ very delicate,” and the operation can only be safely performed by an ox- 





















































































































19G 


THE FARM . 


pert; but don’t believe it. We once wrote out the directions for caponizing, 
and sent them to a lady who was anxious to know how to perform the opera¬ 
tion. With the written directions before her, she first operated on some 
half-dozen of cockerels that had been killed for table use, and then tried her 
hand on the living birds, with excellent success. In three days, besides 
doing her usual housework, she caponized 162 cockerels, and only three of 
them died from the effects of the operation. 

If you live near any one who understands caponizing, and is willing to 
teach others, go and learn how, but if you cannot do that, go and get a set 
of instruments and teach yourself. A set of caponizing instruments consists 
of a pointed hook, a steel splint with a bi'oad, flat hook at each end, a pair 
of tweezers, and a pair of crooked concave forceps. In the first place, kill a 
young cockerel and examine it carefully, so that you will be able to tell the 
exact position of the organs to be removed. You will find them within the 
cavity of the abdomen, attached to the back, one on each side of the spine. 
They are light colored, and the size varies with the age and breed. 

After you have “ located” the parts to be removed, practice the opera¬ 
tion on chickens that have been killed, until you are sure that you can oper¬ 
ate quickly and safely; then you may try your hand on the living birds. 
Place the bird on its left side in a rack that will hold it firmly in position 
without injuring it, or else draw the wings back and fasten them with a broad 
strip of cloth; draw the legs back and tic them with another strip; then let 
the attendant hold the fowl firmly on the table, one hand on the wings and 
head, the other on the legs, while yoii perform the operation. Remove the 
feathers from a spot a little larger than a silver dollar, at the point near thf 
Pip, upon the line between the thigh and shoulder. Draw the skin back¬ 
ward, hold it firm while you make a clean cut an inch and a half long be¬ 
tween the last two ribs, and lastly through the thin membrane that lines the 
abdominal cavity. In making the last cut, take care and not injure the in¬ 
testines. Now take the splint and separate the ribs by attaching one of the 
hooks to each rib, and then allowing the splint to spread; push the intestines 
away with a teaspoon handle, find the testicles; take hold of the membrane 
that covers them and hold it with the tweezers; tear it open with the hook; 
grasp the spermatic cord with the tweezers, and then twist off the testicle 
with the forceps. Remove the other in the same way. The left testicle is 
usually a little farther back than that on the right, and should be removed 
first. During the operation take care not to injure the intestines, or rupture 
the large blood vessels attached to the organs removed. The operation 
completed, take out the splint, allow the skin to resume its place, stick on 
some of the feathers that were removed, which will absorb the blood and 
cover the wound; give plenty of drink, but feed sparingly on soft cooked 
food for a few days, or until they begin to move around pretty lively. 

To prepare cockerels for caponizing, shut them up without food or drink 
for twenty-four hours previous to the operation, for if the intestines are full 
the operation will be more difficult and dangerous. Cockerels that are in¬ 
tended lor capons should be operated upon between three and four months 
ol age. Cockerels of any breed may be caponized, but of course the larger 
breeds are the best. A cross between the Light Brahmas and Partridge 
Cochins will produce extra large cockerels for capons, but only the first 
cross is desirable. Capons grow fully one-third larger than the ordinary 
male fowl of the same age and breed. Their flesh is more delicate and juicy, 
and they command prices, from thirty to fifty per cent, higher than common 
poultry, but outside the largest cities there is no market for them. 


THE POULTRY YARD. 


19? 


Good and Cheap Incubators. —For the benefit of those who desire to 
experience some of the pleasures and profits of artificial incubation, we here 
give a model of a very simple and reliable incubator, with directions for 
making the same. 

Have a pine case made somewhat like a common washstand (see Fig. 2) 
without the inside divisions. 

About a foot from the floor of this 
case, place brackets like those in Fig. 

1, and on a level with these screw a 
strong cleat across the back of the 
case inside. These are to support the 
tank. 

The tank should he made of gal¬ 
vanized iron, three inches deep and 
otherwise proportioned to fit exactly 
within the case and rest upon the 
brackets and cleat. The tank should 
have a top or cover soldered on when 
• it is made. At the top of this tank in 
the center should he a hole an inch in 
diameter with a rim two inches high, and at the bottom, toward one end, a 
faucet for drawing off the water. When the tank is set in the case fill up all 
the chinks and cracks between the edges of the tank and the case with plas¬ 
ter Paris to keep all fumes of the lamp from the eggs. 

Fill the tank at least two inches deep with boiling water. 

To find when the right depth is required, gauge the water with a small 
stick. Over the top of the tank spread fine gravel a quarter of an inch thick; 

over this lay a coarse cot¬ 
ton cloth. Place the eggs 
on the cloth, and set a kero¬ 
sene safety-lamp under the 
center of the tank. 

The door of the lamp- 
closet must have four holes 
for ventilation, otherwise 
the lamp will not burn. 
The lamp-closet is the 
space within the incubator 
under the tank. Turn the 
eggs carefully every morn¬ 
ing and evening, and after 
turning sprinkle them with 
quite warm water. Two 
thermometers should be 
kept in the incubator, one 
half way between the center and each end; the average heat should be 105 
degrees. 

If the eggs do not warm up well, lay a piece of coarse carpet over them. 
If they are too warm, take out the lamp and open the cover for a few min¬ 
utes, but do not let the eggs get chilled. If they should happen to get down 
to 98 degrees, and up to a 108 degrees, you need not think the eggs are 
spoiled. They will stand such a variation once in a while; but of course a 
uniform temperature of 105 degrees will secure more chickens, and they will 



FIG. 2. —INCUBATOR CLOSED. 



FIG. 1.—INSIDE OF INCUBATOR. FRONT 
SECTION—T, TANK; L C, LAMP CLOS¬ 


ET, B B, BRACKETS. 






















































































































































198 


THE FARM. 


be stronger and more lively. In just such an incubator as tbe one de¬ 
scribed, the writer batched over two hundred chickens two years ago. 

For those who are ambitious to try top heat, the same sort of a tank is 

required, but a boiler must 
be attached at the side with 
an upper and lower pipe for 
circulation. Any plumber 
can attach the boiler, and 
the faucet must be at the 
bottom of the boiler on one 
side. 

The drawers containing 
the eggs should slide be¬ 
neath the tank. A stand 
for the lamp should be 
screwed to one end of the 
case in such a position as to bring the lamp under the boiler (see illustration 
above). This incubator can be cooled by raising the lid, turning down the 
lamp and pulling the drawers part way out. 

In both incubators while the eggs are hatching sprinkle them two or three 
times with quite warm water. After the chicks are hatched they need a 
warm cover, a good run, plenty 
of clean gravel, fresh water, fine 
cracked corn, and green food 
every day. 



FIG. 3. —TOP HEAT INCUBATOR, ON TABLE. 


How to Raise Artilicially- 
Hatelied Chickens. —The fol- 



FIG. 4. —FORM OF TANK. 


lowing article is from the pen of a gentleman who has given the matter - of 
tbe artificial hatching of chickens much careful study, and he tells how to 
successfully raise the young chicks after being so hatched: 

“ It is evident to the most casual observer that chickens hatched without 
a mother must be raised without a mother. Born orphans, they must re¬ 
main orphans. When my incubator produced the first chick, what a com¬ 
motion there was in the house. 
The birth of a baby wouldn’t 
have been a circumstance to 
it; aud while the women-folks 
would have known what to do 
with a new baby, we all 
looked at one another with 
blank bewilderment when the 
question was asked what we 
should do with the new chick. 
The thermometer outside was 
down nearly to the freezing 
point, while in the incubator 
the temperature was 105 degrees. The little chick’s hair stood on end, and 
he was panting for dear life. He must come out of there, and as his brothers 
and sisters were following him out of the shells, we began to prepare all 
sorts of receptacles for them. We rigged up a mother on the heater, and 
put in it several chicks that lived a few hours and then died. We de¬ 
cided it was too cold, so we put others in a box and put them back in the 
















199 



FIG. 2. 


THE POULTRY YARD. 

incubator, where some of them were smothered with the heat. It was 
evident something must be done, or we would soon have no chicks to 
experiment with. I determined in my own mind that a temperature of about 
ninety degrees would be correct, so I rigged up the brooder and started the 
lamp, put in the thermometer, and when the proper degree of heat was 
reached, put what was left of the chicks into the brooder, and they began to 
brighten up. The problem was solved, though its solution cost me the lives 
of many fine chicks. 

tl With further experience, I find the following treatment a complete suc¬ 
cess: After the chick breaks the shell, let him scramble around and dry 
himself in the incubator, which 
will generally take a few hours, 
though some are much strong¬ 
er than others. After too much 
exercise they begin to pant, and 
should, of course, be removed. 

I have a box twelve inches 
square and six inches high. To 
the lid of this tack strips of 
woolen cloth an inch wide and 
two inches apart. These rags 
should hang within two inches 
of the bottom. Put a half inch of dry sand in the box. The brooder is kept 
at a temperature between eighty and ninety degrees. The young chicks, 
when perfectly dry, are taken from the oven and put in the box, and the box 
put in the brooder where the other chicks are. Air holes should be cut in 
the lid of the box, for if cut in the side the other chicks peck out the feathers 
of the little ones through these holes. This box keeps the chicks warm, and 
they soon brighten up, and at the end of twelve hours are ready to take the 
first lesson in eating. Take a hard boiled egg and chop the white and yelk 
up together as fine as grains of wheat; with it cover the bottom of a little pan 
—the top of a blacking box will do. Place this in the box with the chicks, 

and, while tapping with the 
finger in the feed, repeat 
‘ tuck, tuck,’ like the clucking 
of a hen (Fig. 1). A little 
patience, and one chick will 
see something and peck at it, 
when the others will follow 
suit, and in a few minutes the 
first lesson is learned. After 
a few meals, with this process 
repeated, it will be only nec¬ 
essary to rap on the box, and the little fellows will be ready for their meal, 
and also be spry enough to be put out of the box and run with the others in 
the brooder. 

“ The next lot of chicks I feed as follows: Stale wheat bread is soaked in 
water. A cupful of oatmeal or rice has boiling water poured over it, and is 
stirred until it takes up all the water. I mix two handfuls of soaked bread, 
w r ith the water squeezed out, with one handful of this oatmeal, and dry it all 
with unbolted cornmeal until it crumbles freely. A little salt is mixed up 
with it. This, with a little meat once a day, is their sole feed, and it is given 
about every three hours until the chicks are a week old, or until the wings 



fig. 3. 














260 


TftE FARM. 


are large enough to cover their backs, when they are put in a pen. This lot 
is fed the above mixture five or six times, with meat or worms once a day, 
and a head of cabbage is hung in the pen for them to peck at. The bottom 
of this pen is covered with dry sand and ashes, with a pile of old mortar and 
broken oyster shells to be picked over. 

“For a water fountain I use a small tin pan, covering with a stone all the 
top except just enough to allow the chicks to drink, as shown at Fig. 2. Turn 
the open part next to the wall, so the little things cannot scratch dirt into it. 
Chicks are very fond of scratching the feed out of the pan. To prevent this 
I take a sheet of tin (Fig. 3), bend it over, and put the feed under the bent 
part. This prevents their treading on or scratching out the feed, and caters 
to their natural taste for hunting under things for food. It is also cleaned 
more readily than a pan. 

“ The body of the brooder (Fig. I) is made of zinc, with an air-chamber 

over and under the back 
end. The lamp setting under 
it sends the heat up through 
the heater and out through 
the top, where a nursery for 
young or sick chicks is 
placed to utilize the waste 
heat. This form of brooder, 
with a warm chamber and 
the chicks feeding in the 
open air, I believe to be bet¬ 
ter than those where the 
chicks are never subjected 
to a cool atmosphere. The 
short stay while they feed in 
the open air tends to harden 
and invigorate them. All 
brooders, boxes, or pens, 
used to keep large numbers 
of chicks in, should have the 
bottom lined with zinc, as 
wood or earth is sure in time 
to become saturated with 
brooder.—fig. 4. excrement, no matter how 

clean you try to keep it, and 
it is the ammonia arising from these tainted floors that causes such pens 
in time to prove fatal to the chicks. I promised to tell the truth 
about my experience in hatching the eggs, and here it is: The 
last eggs that hatched out were bought October 10th. Up to that time I 
had purchased one hundred and five eggs at thirty cents a dozen. 
About one-third of these proved unfertile, and were cooked and eaten, or 
hard-boiled and fed to the young chicks, leaving about seventy-five eggs for 
the incubator to work on. Out of these I now have twenty-seven as fine 
chicks as I ever saw. By my own awkwardness and want of experience, I 
have killed or lost fully one dozen. My machine was an old one, and the 
battery was worn out. The gauge never was worth a cent. All the defect¬ 
ive parts have been renewed except the gauge, and I have learned to doctor 
that. Owing to the above faults, the temperature in the oven has run too 
?ow for days at a time, and for hours it has been at 82 degrees, while it has 











THE p 0 UL TB Y YA Bi). 


201 



taken short trips as high as 110 degrees. The only wonder is that I got a 
chicken out ot any of the eggs. It is astonishing how much an egg will stand. 

“From my experience 
with hens I am satisfied I 
will be able to get more 
chicks from a given num¬ 
ber of eggs with the incu¬ 
bator than I ever could with 
hens. It would be a poor 
hand who could not raise 
from a fourth to a third 
more chicks with brooders 
than with the best hens.” 

Packing Eggs for 
Market.— We present here¬ 
with three different styles 
or methods of packing eggs 
for shipment or for storage, 
any one of which will be 
found simple, inexpensive 
and practical. 

Our illustration, Fig. 1, 
represents a substantial 
carrying case, with nine 
drawers, the frames of 
which are of wood covered 
with canvas or sacking, 
with cords or strings underneath, for the purpose of keeping the eggs in 
their places. The sacks, at the top and bottom, have depressions, as 
shown in the cover of the engraving, so that the eggs fit snugly and are not 

liable to be displaced 
by handling or trans¬ 
porting. Each alternating 
layer, coming between these 
depressions in each box or 
drawer, fills up the inter- 
s t i c e s perfectly. With 
proper care these cases will 
last for years, are always 
ready for packing and can 
be filled as the eggs are laid, 
thus avoiding repeated 
handling. The eggs can 
also be kept in them per¬ 
fectly secure when the 
owner desires to hold his 
stock for better market. 
There are nine layers or 
drawers of eggs in this box, 
each layer containing eight dozen, or a total of seventy-two dozen ot eggs. 

Fig. 2. shows a cheaper case in every respect. It is a common packing 
box, made with paste or binders’ board partitions, and each layer of eggs is 


FIG. 1.—CANVAS COVEBED CASE. 


FIG. 2. —COMMON TBANSPOBTING CASE. 








































































































































202 


THE FARM. 


covered with the same material. One point connected with packing in these 
boxes the shipper should know and guard against; that is, it is sometimes 
the case that the pasteboard cover, on which the eggs are placed, is com¬ 
posed of two pieces, and during transporting or handling these pieces be¬ 
come displaced, or pass each other; then the eggs above drop down on the 
lower ones and break them. This difficulty, however, can easily be avoided 
by passing a piece of stiff paper over the joints, which will prevent them 
passing each other. Any sized box desired can be used for this style of case, 
aud, with a little care on the part of the packer of the eggs, can be carried as 
safely as with any of the patent boxes now in vague. 

Fig. 3 consists of an outside case or crate, in which are fitted a number of 
trays with cord laced through the sides and ends, dividing the spaces into 
small squares or meshes, and making a delicate spring, which responds to 
the slightest jar. Rows of pockets are suspended from the cord work, giv¬ 
ing to each a separate apartment, and so arranged that no jar nor jolt the 

carrier may receive can 
cause one egg to strike an¬ 
other, and being thus sepa¬ 
rated, a free circulation of 
air is obtained, which pre¬ 
vents heating by any pos¬ 
sibility. Each tray is pro¬ 
vided with a protector, 
which keeps the eggs in the 
pocket even though the car¬ 
rier be overturned. As each 
tray contains a certain 
number, no errors in count 
can ever occur, and the pur¬ 
chaser can determine at a 
glance both the number and 
quality of the eggs. By 
FIG. 3.— suspension egg carrier. using this carrier a child 

can pack as well as a man. 

One of these carriers, the size slioAvn, will hold sixty dozen of eggs. 



Milk for liens. —Fanny Field thus expresses herself as to the food value 
of milk for hens: “ I quite agree with the correspondent of the American 
Poultry Yard, who declares there is no feed on earth so good for fowls and 
chicks as milk in some form. For very young chicks we make the clabbered 
milk into Dutch cheese, and use the whey to mix feed for other fowls and 
chickens. From the time they are a week old till sent to market for broilers, 
our early chicks have all the milk, sweet or sour, or buttermilk, that they 
can drink. If the home supply of milk falls short of the demand, we buy 
skim milk at tw r o cents a quart, and consider it cheap at that. For laying 
hens in winter there is nothing better than a liberal supply of milk. A pan 
of warm milk, with a dash of pepper in it, every morning, will do more 
toward inducing hens to lay in cold weather than all the egg-food in crea¬ 
tion. For fattening fowls, we find that boiled vegetables mixed with milk 
and barley or cornmeal will put on flesh at an astonishing rate. Don’t be 
afraid to give milk to fowls or chicks; from the time when the chicks are 
given the first feed up to within the last day of the old fowd’s life, milk may 
be safely and profitably given.” 















































































TEE POULTRY YARD. 203 

Poultry Keeping for Profit.— During the year 1884, Mr. Henry Stewart 
contributed to the 1\ew 1 ork Times a series of articles containing many 
valuable suggestions for those who wish to make poultry-keeping a busi¬ 
ness. His plan is briefly as follows: Each yard is to consist of a plot of 
ground about 100x400 feet, containing nearly one acre, with a suitable 
fence. The house is placed in the center of the yard and a cross-fence on a 
line with the house divides it into two parts. These two parts are alter¬ 
nately sown thickly with some crop that will afford forage for the fowls. In 
September they are placed on one side sown thickly with turnips. The 
other is immediately plowed up and sown with rye. The fowls will do very 
well for the winter in one side, with an occasional day in the green rye. In 
November wheat is sown, after the turnips are eaten off. In April we may 
j sow oats, in May corn, iu June rape or mustard seed and in July begin the 
rotation again with rutabagas. 

As a rule a house twenty-live feet long, ten feet wide, eight feet high in 
the front and five feet in the rear, will be quite large enough for the one 
; hundred fowls to be kept in each yard. This should be cleaned at least 
once a week, the oftener the better. The inside walls are quite smooth, hav¬ 
ing no fixtures except the roosting poles, which are on a level one foot from 
the ground. This leaves no harbor for vermin. The nests are loose boxes. 
Mr. Stewart also siaggests that where a series of yards are kept, the inside 
fences may be movable, so that while the fowls are all confined to one side, 
the fences may be removed from the other, thus facilitating the plowing and 
planting. 

“It is evident,” he adds, “ that this system will greatly enrich the soil, 
and this may be turned to good account by raising fruit trees in the poultry 
yards. No other fruit crop pays so well as plums, but none is so hard to 
grow on account of the pestiferous curculio. But when plums are grown in 
a poultry yard this insect has no chance. The sharp eyes of the fowls let no 
rogue escape, and one can raise plums with success and profit. As 200 of 
these trees can be planted on one acre, there is a possibility of $400 per acre 
from the fruit as well as $200 from the fowls; for every hen well cared for 
should make a clear profit of two dollars in the year. The yards may be 
jflanted with dwarf pear trees, with equal profit or more, because 300 of them 
may be placed on one acre. The shade of these trees is invaluable.” It is 
also recommended that a row or small grove of Norway Spruce, Arbor-vitas 
or Austrian pine be planted each side of the house to serve as a wind break 
' for the fowls in winter. 

Raising Chickens by Artificial Mothers. —Mr. E. S. Benwick writes 
from a large experience upon the above subject, in the American Agricul¬ 
turist. He says: 

When a fancier raises forty or fifty chickens a year, as amusement, the 
amount of care w r hich he gives them is never taken into account; but if the 
number of chickens be increased to several hundreds, some means must be 
provided by which so large a number can be taken care of without too much 
labor. Eor supplying warmth and protection to young chickens, various 
“ artificial mothers,” or “ brooders,” have been devised. Those in the mar¬ 
ket are Avell enough adapted to the raising of a small number of chickens of 
nearly the same age, but it becomes a difficult matter when from two hun¬ 
dred and fifty to five hundred are to be raised, and of all ages, from those 
just hatched to those large enough for broilers. Young chickens must have 
plenty of air, exercise and wholesome green food; and means of protectiem 





204 


TEE FARM. 


against injury must be provided. Where young chickens of different ages 
are together, the elder tyrannize over the younger, the newly-hatched 
chickens being frequently trampled to death, or are driven away from 
their food by the stronger. Young chickens are very often lost in the grass 
when at liberty, and are frequently wet and chilled. Hence, to successfully 
raise a large number of chickens by hand, various means must be provided 
by which those of different ages can be separated, and by which the chickens 
can be protected and at the same time have sufficient liberty for exercise 
and development in the open air. 



A Rustic Poultry House. —The rustic poultry house hero illustrated is 
not only convenient, but designed to beautify the poultry yard of any ama¬ 
teur or breeder. For the rustic work, join four pieces of sapling in an ob¬ 
long shape for sills; confine them to the ground; erect at the middle of each 
of the two ends a forked post, of suitable height, in order to make the sides 
quite steep; join these with a ridge pole; put on any rough or old boards 

from the apex down to the 
ground; then cover it with 
bark, cut in rough pieces, 
from half to a foot square, 
laid on and confined in the 
same manner as ordinary 
shingles; fix the back end 
in the same way; and the 
front can be latticed with 
little poles, Avith the bark 
on, arranged diamond fash¬ 
ion, as shown in the en¬ 
graving. The door can be 
made in any style of rustic 
form. The roosts, laying 
and setting boxes can be 
placed inside of the house, 
A rustic poultry house. in almost any position, 

either lengthwise or in the 
rear. From the directions here given one can easily build a house of any 
desired size, and in any location in the poultry yard he Avishes; but to make 
the rusticity of the Louse sIioav off to the best advantage it should be placed 
amid shrubbery. 


Tlie Hatching Period-getting hens should have a daily run. Do not 
remove them forcibly from their nests, but let the door be open every day at 
a given hour for a certain time while the attendant is about. Perhaps for 
the first day or two you may have to take them gently off their nests, and 
deposit them on the ground outside the door. They will soon, however, 
learn the habit and come out Avhen the door is open, eat, drink, have a dust- 
bath and return to their nests. 

While hens are off their nests some people dampen the eggs Avith luke- 
Avarm water. It is claimed that moisture is necessary, and that the chicks 
gain strength by the process. This may be correct, and in very dry Aveather, 
perhaps, necessary. It is generally, however, a mistake to meddle too much 
Avith nest or eggs; the hen is only made restless and dissatisfied by so doing. 
While the eggs are hatching out it is best not to touch the nests. It is yery 





THE POULTRY YARD . 


205 


foolish to fuss the old bird and make her angry, as she may tread on the 
eggs in her fury, and crush the chicks when they are in the most delicate 
stage of hatching. 

Picking off the shell to help the imprisoned chick is always a more or less 
hazardous proceeding, and should never be had recourse to unless the egg 
has been what is termed “ billed ” for a long time, in which case the chick is 
probably a weakly one and may need a little help, which must be given with 
the greatest caution, in order that the tender membranes of the skin shall not 
be lacerated. A little help should be given at a time, every two or three 
hours; but if any blood is perceived stop at once, as it is a proof that the 
chick is not quite ready to be liberated. If, on the contrary, the minute 
blood vessels which are spread all over the interior of the shell are blood¬ 
less, then you may be sure the chick is in some way stuck to the shell by its 
feathers, or is too weakly to get out of its prison-house. 

The old egg shells should be removed from under the hen, but do not 
take away her chicks from her one by one as they hatch out, as is very often 
L advised, for it only makes her very uneasy, and the natural warmth of her 
body is far better for them at that early stage than artificial heat. Should 
only a few chicks have been hatched out of the sitting, and the other re¬ 
maining eggs show no signs of life when examined, no sounds of the little 
birds inside, then the water test should be tried. Get a basin of warm water, 
not really hot, and put those eggs about which you do not feel certain mto 
it. If they contain chicks they will float on the top, if they move or dance 
the chicks are alive, but if they float without movement the inmates will 
most likely be dead. If they (the eggs) are rotten they will sink to the bot¬ 
tom. Put the floating ones back under the hen, and if, on carefully break¬ 
ing the others, you find the test is correct (one puncture will be sufficient to 
tell you this), bury them at once. 

Chickens should never be set free from their shells in a hurry, because it 
is necessary for their well-being that they should have taken in all the yelk, 
for that serves them as food for twenty-four hours after they see the light, 
so no apprehension need be felt if they do not eat during that period, if they 
seem quite strong, gain their feet, and their little downy plumage spreads 
out and dries properly. Their best place is under the hen for the time 
named. 

When all are hatched, cleanse the nest completely, and well dredge the 
hen’s body with sulphur powder; give her the chicks, and place chopped 
egg and bread-crumbs within reach. The less they are disturbed during 
the first two or three days the better. Warmth is essential, and a constantly 
brooding hen is a better mother than one which fusses the infant chicks 
about and keeps calling them to feed. Pen the hen in a coop and let the 
chicks have free egress. The best place to stand the coops is under shel¬ 
tered runs, guarded from cold winds, the ground dry, and deep in sand and 
mortar siftings. Further warmth is unnecessary if the mothers are good; 
and if the roof is of glass, so as to secure every ray of sun, so much the 
better. Cleanliness of coops, beds, flooring, water vessels and flood tins 
must be absolute. The oftener the chicks are fed the better, but food must 
never be left; water must be made safe, or death from drowning and chills 
maybe expected. The moment weather permits, free range on grass for 
several hours daily is desirable, but shelter should always be at hand. 

Packing Poultry for Market —All poultry should be thoroughly 
cooled and dried before packing, preparatory for shipment to market. For 




206 


THE FARM. 


packing the fowl provide boxes, as they are greatly preferable to barrels. 
Commence your packing by placing a layer of rye straw, that has been 
thoroughly cleaned from dust, on the bottom of the box. Bend the head of 
the first fowl under it, as shown in our illustration (Fig. 1), and then lay it 
in the left hand corner, with the head against the end of the box, with the 
back up. Continue to fill this row in the same manner until completed; 
then begin the second row the same way, letting the head of the bird pass up 
between the rump of the two adjoining ones, which will make it complete and 

solid (see illustration, Fig. 

2). In packing the last 
row, reverse the order, 
placing the head against the 
end of the box, letting the 
feet pass under each other. 
Lastly, fill tight with straw, 
packing poultry. —no. 1 . so that the poultry cannot 

move. This gives a firmness ^ 

in packing that will prevent moving during transportation. Care should be 
taken to have the box filled full. 

Poultry Rsiising as a Business* —Mr. P. H. Jacobs, a practical poul¬ 
try man, writes as follows in the American Agriculturist: A flock of ten hens 
can be comfortably kept in a yard twenty feet wide by fifty deep. An acre 
of ground will contain forty such yards, or four hundred hens. No cocks 
are necessary unless the eggs are desired for incubation. To estimate $1.50 
as a clear profit for each hen, is not the maximum limit, but the profit 
accrues according to the management given. Poultry thrives best when 
tunning at large, but this applies only to small flocks. Hens kept by the 
hundred become too crowded 
while at large, no matter how 
v-dde the range, and sickness and 
1 oss occur. Large flocks must be 
divided, and the .size of the 
yard required for a flock is of 
but little importance compared 
with that of the management. 

There is much profit to be de¬ 
rived from the sale of young 
chicks—and, where one pays 
attention to the business—they 
receive the greatest care. Each 
brood, like the adult, is kept 
separate from the others in a 

little coop, which prevents quarreling among the hens, and enables the 
manager to count and know all about the chicks. This is very important, as 
there are many farmers Avho hatch scores of broods and yet cannot tell what 
became of two-thirds of them. Hawks, crows, cats, rats, and other depreda¬ 
tors take their choice, and the owners are no wiser. Each setting hen should 
be in a coop by herself, and each coop should have a lath run. The critical 
period is the forming of the feathers, which calls for frequent feeding, and 
when they have passed that stage, the chicks become hardy. The houses 
need not be more than eight feet square for each family, and can be doubled. 

If possible, it is best to have changeable yards, but, if used, a less number 





















THE POULTRY YARD. 207 

can be kept to an acre. If the yards are kept clean by an occasional spadin- 
however, green stuff may be grown elsewhere and thrown over to them! 
This may consist of cabbage, grass, turnip tops, kale, mustard, lettuce, etc! 
Watering must not be neglected, or the meals given irregularly. Care must 
be observed not to teed too much, as over-fat fowls will lay few eggs and 
such eggs will not hatch. A good poultry manager is always among his 
fowis, and observes everything. The breeds have special characteristics 
also. The large fowls must be hatched in March, if early pullets are desired 
tor wmter laying. This applies to Brahmas, Cochins and Plymouth Bocks. 
It the manager finds this impossible, he should at once substitute cocks of 
the Leghorn breed, which crossed with large hens, make good marketable 
chicks, and produce pullets that mature early. A knowledge of the charac¬ 
teristics of the several breeds is indispensable to success. Crossing pure¬ 
bred cocks with common hens is excellent, but “fancy poultry” is not 
profitable to any but those who understand thoroughly the mating and 
selection of the several breeds. 


Poiilti j on a Large Scale. —People thinking of raising chickens on a 
large scale will do well to note the following sound advice by the Poultry 
Monthly: 

i( There are many persons of moderate means who have had perhaps some 
little experience with breeding poultry, and who get to wondering if it will 
pay to breed poultry on a large scale; whether it will pay to embark in the 
breeding of poultry for market purposes as a business, and if it is good policy 
to give up a fair paying clerkship or small business to engage in it. Such 
questions are very difficult to determine to the satisfaction of all persons 
concerned, for much more really depends on the person than on the business 
in nearly every department of human industry, and where one person may 
make a success of any undertaking another one may fail, though having 
started with equally as good chances of success. Poultry, to be successful 
on a large scale, must be kept in small colonies of about fifty birds each, for 
many more than that number in a single house is apt to cause sickness or 
disease, ere long, among them. Small flocks like that can be given better 
attention than larger ones, and the first approach of disorder can be seen 
readily and promptly checked, while there is less danger of great loss when 
thus kept in small flocks, as the trouble can usually be confined to the flock 
in which it started by proper and prompt sanitary measures. When the 
breeder is not too far away from large retail markets, and especially where 
the breeder can market them himself, thus saving commission, freight, and 
loss, it pays best to breed and keep poultry for the eggs they produce, as 
eggs known to be strictly fresh are always in good demand at quite an in¬ 
crease in price over that received for the ordinary “store” eggs. Such 
breeds as the white and the brown Leghorns, and birds bred from them, 
either pure breed or cross breed or grade, as a basis, are first-class egg pro¬ 
ducers, while a game cock is also valuable to breed to good common hens, 
producing, as a rule, vigorous, active pullets, which are invariably good 
layers. Those who wish to raise poultry principally for the flesh should 
raise the light Brahmas, Plymouth Bocks, dark Brahmas, or some of the 
Cochin breeds, the first two named, however, being general favorites in this 
respect, and also combining with it good laying qualities under favorable 
circumstances. Those who cannot or will not give the poultry regular or 
constant attention, shelter them properly, supply proper food in liberal 
quantities and at frequent and regular intervals, and pay a strict attention 


208 


THE FARM. 


to cleanliness and thoroughness in all the details of the management, need 
not expect even to succeed, not to even consider the question of loss or 
profits, for success and profit here means work, work, work.” 

Feeding Hoppers Tor Fowls. —We give herewith designs for two styles 

of feeding hoppers for fowls, 
deeming anything that has a 
tendency toward economy 
will be beneficial to the 
farmer as well as to the 
amateur breeder of fowls. 

The illustration, Fig. 1, 
represents a very good and 
easily constructed hopper, 
that can be made to contain 
any quantity of corn re¬ 
quired, and none wasted. 
When once filled it requires 
n o more trouble, as the 
grain falls into the receiver 
below as the fowls pick it 
away, and the covers on that 
which are opened by the 
perches, and the cover on the top, protect the grain from rain, so that the 
fowls always get it quite dry; and as nothing less than the weight of a fowd 
on the perch can lift the cover on the lower receiver, rats and mice are 
excluded. 

Our illustration, Fig. 2, represents “ a perfect feeding hopper,” which, 
from the description here 
given, can be easily con¬ 
structed by any person. A is 
an end view, eight inches wide, 
tw r o feet six inches high, and 
three feet long; B, the roof pro¬ 
jecting over the perch on which 
the fowls stand while feeding; 

C, the lid of tho receiving 
manger raised, exhibiting the 
grain; E, E, cords attached to 
the perch and lid of the manger 
or feeding trough; I, end bar 
of the perch, with a weight 
attached to tho end to balanco 
the lid, otherwise it would not 
close when the fowls leave tho 
perch; H, pully; G, fulcrum. 

The hinges on the top show 
that it is to be raised when 
the hopper is to be replenished. When a fowl desires food it hops upon 
the bars of the perch, the weight of which raises the lid of the feed box, 
exposing the grain to view, and after satisfying its hunger jumps off, anil 
the lid closes. Of course the dimensions of either of these feeding hoppers 
may be increased to any size desired. 




FIG. 1.—FEEDING HOPPER. 


















W&E lP O UL TR Y YARD. 


209 


Winter Egg-Production. —The following is from the Country Gentle¬ 
man: To obtain a breed of fowls that are perpetual layers is the object 
ithat many aim at. This is an impossibility, for nature will exhaust itself 
=and must have a period of rest. In order that we have a perpetual produc¬ 
tion of fresh eggs, the business must be arranged beforehand. There is a 
•difference in breeds, some laying better than others at any time of the year 
;and others, again, giving their eggs in winter. There is little difficulty in 
(obtaining eggs in summer, but the winter eggs must be worked for, and the 
fowls managed beforehand. Hens that have laid well during the summer 
>cannot be depended on for late fall or early winter, even if well fed, but will 
generally commence in January, and keep it up throughout February and 
March, giving a good -supply of eggs if not too old. But it is better not to 
allow such birds to go into the winter. They are generally fat, after having 
finished the annual! moult, and should be killed for the table. After the 




second annual moult hens are apt to become egg-bound, especially if well 
fed and fat. The excess of fat that accumulates about the lower intestines 
and ovaries weakens these organs and renders them incapable of performing 
fheir offioes. Hence the fowl suffers and becomes profitless. When left too 
Song the bird becomes feverish and the flesh is unfit for food. The better 
way is to avoid this trouble, since there is no cure, by not allowing the birds 
to go into the second winter. Trouble of this kind seldom occurs with 
pullets or young hens. 

To obtain a supply of winter eggs, we must have the chicks out in March 
or April. Leghorns and some of the smaller breeds will do in May or the 
ffrst of June, but the Brahmas and Cochins must come off early, that they 
may have the full season for growth. The Asiastics are generally good 
layers in winter, and need less artificial heat, as nature has not furnished 
them with any ornamental appendages which suffer by exposure to frost. 
For them it is not necessary to spend large sums in warm buildings. What 
they can dispense with in this respect they demand in feed, which must be 
given regularly. The feed must be kept up and varied with animal and 
vegetable diet. The supply of water must never fail. We must feed and 
feed a long time before the eggs will come. Any breed of hens will con¬ 
sume an enormous quantity of feed before commencing to lay, but after 
having once begun they will not require, or even take so much grain. When 
laying, their great craving is for vegetable and animal substances, and 
crushed clam or oyster shells. 

Fowls that are regularly trained have certain portions of the day for their 
different feeds. My birds require their shells at night, as well as their 
greens, and their grain in the morning, and always fresh water. When one 
has the time and convenience, and enjoys the petting of fowls, making warm 
stews on very cold days is an admirable plan, and the birds relish them 
marvelously. Take beef or pork scraps, and put into an old kettle, having 
them previously chopped fine, and fill it half full of water. While stewing, 
throw in a dozen chopped onions, two dozen cayenne peppers, and the day’s 
coffee and tea-grounds. Thicken the mixture with cornmeal, and serve it 
around among the hens hot. They relish it amazingly when once taught to 
eat it, and will look for the ration daily at the certain time. On cold winter 
days give this feed between two and three o’clock in the afternoon, and tho 
chicks get their crops warmed up for the coming cold at night. If scraps are 
not handy, boil unpeeled potatoes, aud serve in the same manner, adding a 
little grease or cold gravies left over from yesterday’s dinner. 

Tho combed varieties require warmer quarters and sunnier exposure 



210 


THE FARM. 


than the Asiatics, and are good winter layers after December and early 
January. They will lay in the fall if early hatched, but the change of fall to 
winter, and the getting into winter quarters affects them, and they seldom 
commence again before the days begin to lengthen, at which time Brahmas 
will cease egg-production and become broody. Where one has the con¬ 
venience it is well to keep both kinds, in order to insure a supply of eggs. It 
is useless to expect many eggs from old fowls of any variety. Have the 
buildings ready early, and the fowls of the right age and in condition to 
insure success. The business of our domestic hen is to produce eggs, and 

we must feed her for it. 

A Chicken Coop.— 

Nail short pieces of 
matched boards together 
as indicated in the cut; 
then board up the rear 
end tightly, and nail nar¬ 
row strips of boards or lath 
chicken coop.—fig. 1 . in front; put a floor of 

boards in the back part of 
the coop, large enough for the hen to brood her young upon, and lay a wide 
board in front to feed upon, as long as the width of the coop. The coop 
should be at least two feet high, and from two to three feet deep. The board 
in front may be turned up at night to prevent the young against rats, cats, 
etc., and should remain in the morning until the dew is off from the grass. 
The coop should be moved every two or three days to a clean place. The 
second engraving shows a coop of another construction, the tight apartment 
at the end with a slide door to let down every evening, keeps the little 
inmates secure from all enemies. A few auger holes must be made for ven¬ 
tilation. The front is a 
simple frame, with lath 
attached at sufficient dis¬ 
tances to allow the chickens 
to pass through. The top 
should be made separate, 
and attached to the side by 
leather hinges. 

Feeding and Ijftying. 

—The best of feed some¬ 
times fails to induce the hens 
to lay. This is not because 
the fowls do not get enough, 
but because it is not the kind they desire. It may be feed consisting of 
everything that serves to satisfy the demand for egg material, and yet no 
eggs will be the result. There are several causes for these complaints, one 
of the principal being the fact that a plentiful supply of pure fresh water is 
not always within reach, and unless water is plentiful the fowls will not lay. 
Water being the principal substance in an egg, it cannot be limited. Unless 
the water can be procured for the egg the fowl cannot lay. And in cold 
weather it must be so situated as to be either protected from freezing or else 
have a little warm water added to it occasionally. Now this is a trouble¬ 
some job in winter, but water will freeze on cold days, and consequently is 



CHICKEN COOP.—FIG. 2. 


































































THE P 0 TIL TP Y YARD. 


211 




, 




h 

W 


useless to the fowls when in a frozen condition. The feed, however, even 
when of the best quality, may not give satisfaction. In that case, when no 
eggs are being derived, change it entirely for three or four days. Give 
something entirely different in the moraing from that previously given, even 
if inferior, but still give whole grains at night in cold weather, for then the 
fowls go on the roost early in the evening, and have to remain in the coops 
until daylight, which is nearly thirteen hours, and so long a period demands 
the solid food in order to keep them warm during the long cold nights. 
Whole com and wheat is best for them then, but in the morning any kind of 
mixed soft food makes a good meal for a change. The changes can be made 
by using good clover hay, steeped in warm water, after being chopped fine, 
slightly sprinkled with meal, and fed warm, which will be very acceptable. 
A few onions chopped fine will also be highly relished. Parched ground 
oats or parched cracked corn is a splendid change of food for a few days 
from the ordinary routine of every day. It stimulates them if fed warm, and 
is a good corrective of bowel complaints, especially if some of the grains 
are parched till burned. The matter of feeding is to give variety, and if the 
food is of good quality also, a good supply of eggs may be expected at all 
times, but with good quarters and plenty of water the prospects will be 
better. 


s 


\ 

1 * 


Successful Poultry Raising. —Mr. Charles Lyman, a successful raiser 
of poultry, writes as follows: In raising poultry or stock of any kind, it 
should be the aim of every one to keep it healthy and improve it. You can 
do it very easily by adopting some systematic rules. These may be summed 
up in brief, as follows: 

1. Construct your house good and warm, so as to avoid damp floors, and 
afford a flood of sunlight. Sunshine is better than medicine. 

2. Provide a dusting and scratching place where you can bury wheat and 
corn and thus induce the fowls to take the needful exercise. 

3. Provide yourself with some good, healthy chickens, none to be over 
three or four years old, giving one cock to every twelve hens. 

4. Give plenty of fresh air at all times, especially in summer. 

5. Give plenty of fresh water daily, and never allow the fowls to go 


thirsty. 

6. Feed them systematically two or three times a day; scatter the food so 
• they can’t eat too fast, or without proper exercise. Do not feed more than 

they will eat up clean, or they will get tired of that kind of feed. 

7. Give them a variety of both dry and cooked feed; a mixture of cooked 
meat and vegetables is an excellent thing for their morning meal. 

8. Give soft feed in the morning, and the whole grain at night, except a 
little wheat or cracked corn placed in the scratching places to give them 

Kexercise during the day. 

9. Above all things keep the hen house clean and well ventilated. 

10. Do not crowd too many in one house. If you do, look out for disease. 

11. Use carbolic powder occasionally in the dusting bins to destroy lice. 

12. Wash your roosts and bottom of laying nests, and whitewash once a 

• week in summer, and once a month in winter. 

13. Let the old and young have as large a range as possible—the larger 
1 the better. 

14. Don’t breed too many lands of fowls at the same timo, unless you 

• ‘are going into the business, Three or four will givo you your hand* 

3 full, 









212 


THE FARM. 


15. Introduce new blood into your stock every year or so, by either buy¬ 
ing a cockerel or settings of eggs from some reliable breeder. 

16. In buying birds or eggs, go to some reliable breeder who has iiis 
reputation at stake. You may have to pay a little more for birds, but you 
can depend on what you get. Culls are not cheap at any price. 

17. Save the best birds for next year’s breeding, and send the others to 
market. In shipping fancy poultry to market send it dressed. 

Pisli for Poultry._In preparing fish for fowls, we prefer to chop them 
up raw, add a very little salt and pepper, and feed in small quantities in 
conjunction with grain and vegetables; but for young chicks it is advisable 
to boil before feeding, and simply open the fish down the line of the back 
bone, leaving to the chicks the rest of the task. This food shall be given to 
layers sparingly, or we may perceive a fishy smell about the eggs, especially 
if the fish is fed raw. All who can will do well to try this diet for their 
flocks, and note its effect on egg production. We have always marked a 
decided increase in the rate of laying following an allowance of fish fed in 
moderate quantities. 

There are hundreds of our readers who live near or on rivers or lakes, or 
the sea shore, where they can get considerable offal fish, such as are either 
too small to market, or are cast out as unfit to be sold. Hundreds of bushels 
of these fish are annually used for manure, either composted or plowed in 
direct. In this connection they are very good, though many a basketful 
could be put to better account by feeding them to your fowls; and they aro 
very fond of this diet, though care must be taken not to feed it exclusively, 
for it may cause extreme laxity. 

To Cure Pip. —This is a troublesome and somewhat fatal complaint to 
which all domestic poultry are liable; it is also a very common one. Some 
writers say it is the result of cold; others, that is promoted by the use of bad 
water. But, whatever the cause, the disease is easily detected. There is a 
thickening of the membrane of the tongue, particularly at the tip; also a 
difficulty in breathing; the beak is frequently held open, the tongue dry, the 
feathers of the head ruffled and the bird falls off in food; and if neglected, 
dies. The mode of cure which, if put in practice in time, is generally suc¬ 
cessful, is to remove the thickened membrane from the tongue with the 
nails of the forefinger and thumb. The process is not difficult, for the mem¬ 
brane is not adhesive. Then take a lump of butter, mix into it some strong 
Scotch snuff, and put two or three large pills of this down the fowl’s throat. 
Keep it from cold and damp, and it will soon recover. It may, perhaps, be 
necessary to repeat the snuff balls. Some writers recommend a mixture of 
butter, pepper, garlic, and scraped horseradish; but we believe the Scotch 
snuff to bo the safest, as it is the most simple. 

ail( l Pullets. —Unless you want a large proportion of cockerels do 
not sell all the largest eggs you can pick out. There are no means known by 
which the sex of eggs can with certainty be determined. Although many 
thought some sign indicated the sex, yet after repeated fair trials, all these 
indications have entirely failed with me, except the one which follows: With 
regard to the eggs of most of the feathered kingdom, if you pick the largest 
out of the nest, they are the ones that generally produce males, especially if 
they happen to be the first laid. Even in a canary’s nest it is noticeable that 
the first egg laid is very often the largest, the young from it is the first out, 
keeps ahead of its comrades, is the first to quit the nest, and the first to sing. 



THE POULT nr YAPP. 21 $ 

Mow to Produce t»ye«_Mr. L. Wright says: In every lot of hens 
me will be better layers than others. Let us suppose we start with six 
Houdans—a cock and five hens. Probably out of this five two may lay thirty 
e o& 8 P® r annum more than either of the others; their eggs should be noticed 
and only these set. By following this for a few years a very great increase 
m egg production may be attained. My attention was drawn to this subject 
y a having a Brahma pullet which laid nearlv three hundred eggs in 

one twelve-month, though valueless as a fancy bird, and the quality de¬ 
scended to several of her progeny; and I have since found other instances 
which prove conclusively that a vast improvement might easily be effected 
in nearly all our breeds were that careful selection of brood stocks made for 
this purpose which the fancier bestows on other objects. It is to be regretted 
more is not done in this way, and having more room than I had, I hope my¬ 
self to make some experiments in this direction shortly. I will say now that 
I am perfectly certain the number of two hundred eggs per annum might be 
attained in a few years with perfect ease were the object systematically 
sought; and I trust these few remarks may arouse a general attention to it 
among those who keep poultry for eggs oniy, and who can easily do all that 
is necessary without any 
knowledge whatever of 
fancy points, or any attempt 
to breed exhibition birds. 


A Grain C'liest lor 
Fowls. —We illustrate an 
excellent grain chest for 
foAvls. The trough (1), two 
inches high. The front of 
the chest extends down¬ 
ward no further than the 
top of the trough, thus 
leaving a free passage for 
grain from the chest into grain chest for fowls. 

the trough. The dotted line (2) shows the position of a board in the chest, 
placed there to conduct the grain into the trough as fast as it is eaten out by 
the fowls. The platform (3) is for the fowls to stand upon while eating. It 
should not be wide enough to induce them to form a habit of sitting upon it. 
A board (4) is fastened to the front of the chest and extends over the trough 
to prevent filth from falling into it. The cover of the chest (5) should ex¬ 
tend a little over the front, that it may be handily raised, and should rest 
inclined to prevent fowls from roosting on it. An extension of the back of 
the chest (6), with two holes in it, is provided so that it may be hung on cor¬ 
responding wooden pins. If it is hung up in that way it will be necessary to 
put some kind of a key through each of the pins, to prevent its being jarred 
off from them. It should be hung so that the platform will be at least two 
feet from the floor. It may be made any length. A square chest, for a post 
in the yard, can be made on the same principle. 

How to Fatten Turkeys. —Nothing pays better to be sent to market in 
prime condition than the turkey crop. Many farmers do not understand 
this. Their turkeys grow on a limited range, getting little or no food at home 
through the summer, and if fed at all with regularity it is only for two or 
three weeks before killing. I see these lean, bony carcasses in the local 

























































































214 


THE FARM. 


markets every winter, and feel sorry for the owner’s loss. They have re¬ 
ceived a small price for their birds and a still poorer price for the food fed 
out. The average life of a turkey is only seven months, and the true econ¬ 
omy of feeding is to give the chicks all they can digest from the shell to the 
slaughter. If they get all they can eat on the range, that is well. Usually 
this should be supplemented by regular rations when they come from the 
roost in the morning and two or three hours before they go to roost at night. 
The food may be slack in the morning, so that they will go to the range with 
good appetites, and fuller at night. They should be put upon a regular 
course of fattening food as early as the middle of October, when you propose 
to kill the best birds at Thanksgiving. The younger and lighter birds should 
be reserved for the Christmas and New Year’s markets. They continue 
growing quite rapidly until midwinter, and you will be paid for the longer 
feeding. There is nothing better for fattening than old corn, fed partly in 
the kernel and partly in cooked meal mashed up with boiled potatoes. Feed 
three times a day, giving the warm meal in the morning, and feeding in 
troughs with plenty of room, so that all the flock may have a chance. North¬ 
ern corn has more oil in it than Southern, and is worth more for turkey food. 
Use milk in fattening if you keep a dairy farm. Feed only so much as they 
will eat up clean. Cultivate the acquaintance of your turkeys as you feed 
them. No more charming sight greets your vision in the whole circle of a 
year than a large flock of bronze turkeys coming at call from their roosts on 
a frosty November morning. New corn is apt to make the bowels loose, and 
this should bo guarded against. There is usually green food enough in the 
fields to meet their wants in the fall, and cabbage and turnips need not be 
added until winter sets in. If the bowels get loose give them scalded milk, 
which will generally correct the evil. Well-fattened and well-dressed tur¬ 
keys will bring two or three cents a pound more than smaller birds. It will 
not only be better for the purse, but for your manhood, to send nothing but 
finished products to the market. 

Preserving Eggs.—Several Practiced Methods. —Several ways of 
preserving eggs are practiced. The object is to prevent evaporation from 
the egg. Cutting off the air from the contents of the egg preserves them 
longer than with any other treatment. An egg which has lain in bran even 
for a few days will smell and taste musty. Packed in lime eggs will be 
stained. Covered with a coat of spirit varnish eggs have kept so perfectly 
that after the lapse of two years chickens were hatched from them. A good 
egg will sink in a body of water; if stale, a body of air inside the shell will 
frequently cause it to float. When boiled, a fresh egg will adhere to the 
shell, which will have a rough exterior; if stale, the outside will be smooth 
and glassy. 

Looking through a paper tube directed toward the light, an egg held to 
the end of the tube will appear translucent if fresh; but if stale it will be 
dark—almost opaque. 

Spirit varnish for preserving eggs is made by dissolving gum shellac in 
enough alcohol to make a thin varnish. Coat each egg with this and pack, 
little end down, so that they cannot move, in bran, sawdust, or sand; the 
sand is best. Whatever is used for packing should be clean and dry. For 
preserving in lime, a pickle is made of the best stone lime, fine, clean salt 
and water enough to make a strong brine, usually sixty or sixty-five gallons 
of water, six or eight quarts of salt, and a bushel of lime are used. The 
lime should be slacked with a portion of the water, the salt and the re- 


THE POULTRY YARD. 


215 


mainder of the water is added. Stir at intervals, and when the pickle is 
cold and the sediment has settled, dip or draw the liquid off into the cask in 
which the eggs are to he preserved. When only a few eggs are to be pickled 
a stone jar will answer. 

At the Birmingham Poultry Show, England, prizes Avere offered for the 
best dozen preserved eggs that had been kept two months. The eggs were 
tested by breaking one of each set competing for the prize into a clean saucer, 
also by boiling one of each lot. 

The eggs that had been preserved in lime-water, it was found on breaking 
them, presented cloudy Avliites. Eggs preserved by rubbing over with bees¬ 
wax and oil showed thin, watery whites. 

Eggs that stood best the test of boiling and which gained the first prize 
had been simply packed in common salt. These had lost little, if any, by 
evaporation, had good, consistent albumen, and were pleasant to the taste. 
The exhibit which took the second prize Avas served as follows: Melt one 
part of white Avax to tAvo parts of spermaceti, boil and mix thoroughly; or 
tAvo parts clarified suet to one of wax and tAvo of spermaceti. Take neAV-laid 
eggs, rub Avith antiseptic salt and fine rice starch. Wrap each egg in fine 
tissue paper, putting the broad end downward; screAV the paper tightly at 
the top, leaving an inch to hold it by. Dip each egg rapidly into the fat 
heated to 100 degrees. Withdraw and leave to cool. Pack broad end doAvn- 
ward in dry, Avhite sand or sawdust. The judges Avere inclined to believe 
that had the trial been for a longer period than tAvo months, this latter 
method would perhaps have proven the better of the two. The eggs were 
excellent, and on stripping off the Avaxed paper the shells presented the clean, 
fresh appearance of neAvly laid eggs’. 

The folloAving is a recipe for packing in salt: Cover the bottom of a keg, 
cask, jar, hogshead, or Avhatever you choose to pack in, Avith a layer of fine 
salt tAvo inches deep; upon this place the eggs, small end down, and far 
enough apart so that they Avill not touch each other or the sides of the re¬ 
ceptacle; then put on another tAvo inch layer of salt, then another layer of 
eggs, and so on until the package is full. This is the method that we used, 
and is on the whole the best method for housekeepers and for those who 
have only a small number to pack for market. The salt can be used over 
and over again. 

The following recipe is also given for keeping eggs: Put them in an open- 
Avork basket or colander and immerse them for a moment in boiling water; 
let them stay just long enough to form a film on the inside of the shell; this 
excludes the air. Then place them in some convenient vessel, small end 
doAvn, and set them in the coolest part of the cellar, Avhere they will keep 
till Avanted for use. 

Cheap Poultry Houses. —The following directions for building cheap 
poultry houses are clipped from W. H. Todd’s descriptive catalogue: 

We find the best and most successful plan to manage and make fowls pay 
is to scatter them over a large range in fields and orchards. For this pur¬ 
pose cheap, convenient, and comfortable houses are best. My plan is to 
build 16 feet long and 8 feet Avide, 7 1-2 front (facing south), and 4 1-2 back, 
boarded upright and battened, with a shed roof, shingled. Sills are 2x4 
inch-plank halved together. Plates’, same size. Rafters, 2x2. Lay the sills 
on sleepers, and on these lay a tight floor, which cover with dry earth 4 to 6 
Relies deep, removing and renewing t^'ice a year. This keeps foAvls dry, 
grann and healthy. Place ‘411 entrance door near one end, on the %ont. and 





216: 


TEE EAEM, 


at least two windows of six 8x10 lights. Partition across the middle, with t£ 
door. Fix ventilators at the highest point in each end, sheathed to exclude 
storm and wind. Erect roosts 20 inches high, for twenty fowls, with a mova¬ 
ble nest or two, and a box, partly filled with dust and ashes, and you are 
ready for “ business.” Forty large fowls can be accommodated and thrive 
well. Since the house is double we are in shape for running two breeding 
yards. Fence can be built cheaply with lath nailed upright to two 1-inch-thick 
pieces, the lower one 8 or 10 inches wide, and the upper about 2, 30 inches 
apart; the lath may be 3 inches apart, and a short piece 16 inches long, 
tacked to the bottom board, and to a light strip running lengthwise the 
panel. It is best to make this fence in panels about 12 feet long. Set a post 
where they come together, and pass a wire around panels and post, fasten, 
and you have light, cheap, strong fences. The house can be made warmer 
if necessary by lining with tar-board sheathing. 


An Inexpensive Chicken Coop —A correspondent writes as follows: 
“ Having made a good discovery, I am desirous of giving it to the people. 
Being engaged in raising chickens for profit, it was necessary to make cheap 
coops to keep them in for a few weeks. I take an old barrel and tack every 

hoop on each side of a seam 
between the staves with an 
inch wrought nail; after 
clinching the nail, I saw the 
hoops off on the seam. Then 
I spread the barrel open, as 
shown in the illustration, by 
cutting a board about twenty 
inches long for the back of 
the coop, and two small 
pieces to tack laths on for the front part. I have the upper section of the 
back fastened with leather hinges, so that I can open it at pleasure. Every¬ 
body has old barrels which are almost valueless, and the trouble and ex¬ 
pense of making a coop of this description is so small that it is not worth 
mentioning, Avhile to buy the material and make a coop of the same size, it 
would cost about one dollar.” 



AN INEXPENSIVE CHICKEN COOP. 


Chicken. Cholera. —A New Jersey correspondent gives this remedy: 
Take of pulverized copperas, sulphur, alum, cayenne pepper and rosin, of 
each equal parts, and mix one teaspoonful in four quarts of meal. Give 
three days in succession, then once a week as a preventive. I have seen it 
used successfully. It will not cure those which have it, but will prevent 
spreading of the disease. For a disinfectant, use crude carbolic acid—one 
tablespoonful in one gallon of water. Sprinkle the hen house often, say 
about twice a week. 

Another correspondent says: I used a strong tea made of white oak bark, 
Avhich I used in the drinking water as a preventive. When a fowl Avas taken 
sick I used it pure, giving several teaspoonfuls at a time, four or five times 
a day. I have taken fowls so far gone that they Avere past eating or drinking, 
and cured them in a few days Avith this simple remedy. As a disinfectant I 
use crude carbolic acid, pouring it on a board in the chicken house and on 
the perches, coops, etc., or anywhere that the fowls frequent. If you will 
try this plan for awhile, removing all infected foAvls from the flock, and keep 
the surroundings clean, I think you will soon get rid of the disease. 








217 


TRP POULTRY YARP. 

The following prescription we find in the Southern Cultivator, and it is 
Said to be very efficacious in chicken cholera: Glycerine and water, each a 
half ounce; carbolic acid, ten drops. When the first symptoms of the dis¬ 
ease are apparent, give five drops, and repeat at intervals of twelve hours. 
Usually the second dose effects a cure. A neighbor informed me that cholera 
was very destructive among his poultry, and at my suggestion he tried the 
foregoing recipe. He reports that the progress of the disease was promptly 
arrested, and in almost every case a cure was accomplished. 

Infertile Eggs.—There are many reasons why eggs hatch so poorly, 
when from pure bred stock, one of the greatest being want of stamina in the 
flock from which the eggs came, caused by being kept too closely confined, 
As a rule it is best to procure eggs for hatching from fowls which have free 
range, which is a great promoter of healthfulness, though there is no reason 
why eggs should not hatch well ivhen from fowls in confinement, if those 
fowls are given good care, plenty of food, and have good sized yards to run 
in. Want of fertility may be due 
to running too many hens to a 
cock; about ten hens of the Asia¬ 
tics (Brahmas and Cochins), and 
from ten to fifteen of the laying 
breeds (Leghorns, Ilamburgs, 
etc.) to a cock being about the 
right number to secure good re¬ 
sults, other things being equal. 

A Cheap Chicken Foun¬ 
tain. —Take an emptied tomato 
can, bend in the ragged edges 
where it has been opened, make 
a hole in the side one quarter of 
an inch from the edge, fill it 
with water, put a saucer on it, 
and quickly invert both. The 
water will then stand in the saucer constantly at the height of the hole. 
Chickens can drink, but cannot get in the water, which remains clean. 

Chicken Lice. —The first signs of lice are with the early setting hens. 
From their nests soon a whole house will be overrun with the pest. Chicks 
show the presence of lice very quickly, and lice are certain death to them 
if they are not protected. Have all nests movable, and change the contents 
frequently. With sitting hen’s nests be sure to have the nest clean and the 
box and surroundings whitewashed before she is placed. Whitewash and the 
dust box are the surest preventives office. Put two or three coats of white¬ 
wash on every interior spot in the building; the lice harbor in the crevices 
of the rough sidings, and on the under side of the perches. Let the fowl 
house have a dust box. Mix hot ashes with the dust occasionally to dry it. 
Ho all this early in the year, before spring laying and sitting. Kerosene and 
lard when applied is a sure cure, but they are too often dangerous in their 
effects. A little castor oil on the head and under the wings of sitting hens 
is very effective. Don’t keep a brood hen in a little coop without a dust 
wallow. If you want your fowls to be free from lice you must keep their 
habitation clean. The best way to do that is by occasional change of the 
nest contents and a thorough whitewashing of the apartment. 



A CHEAP CHICKEN FOUNTAIN. 









































218 


THE FARM. 


Raising Turkeys— The difficulty of raising turkeys is a serious draw- 
hack to the profits of the business, but the exercise of care will obviate the 
difficulty. At first, and for about six weeks, turkey chicks are very delicate, 
so much so that even a warm shower will finish them. If they can be kept 
alive for about two months they begin to assume a more robust character, 
and will soon become the very hardiest of poultry. The chicks, therefore, 
should be provided with shelter, and the shed which furnishes this would 
be all the better if it had a wooden floor. The best feed for the first week is 
hard boiled eggs, mixed with minced dandelion. It is thought the dande¬ 
lion serves to keep the bowels in order. At all events the young birds pre¬ 
fer dandelion to all other green food. At the end of the first week add gradu¬ 
ally to the boiled eggs bread crumbs and barley meal, constantly lessening 
the amount of egg until at the end of three weeks it may be entirely discon¬ 
tinued. Now give boiled potatoes as a part of the food, and a small portion 
of some small grain may be added, in fact making the food very much like 
that of other poultry. If fed in this way and kept dry, they will come along 
all right. 

How to Raise Ducks. —A writer who thinks unlimited water a bad thing 
for young ducks, recommends the following treatment for them: “Ducks 
are easily hatched, and, if properly managed, they are easily raised—much 
more so than chickens or turkeys. Probably the worst thing for ducklings 
is the first thing they usually receive, and that is unlimited range and water 
to swim in. The little things are, in a measure, nude, and should be kept in 
pens with dry soil floors or stone pavements that can be washed down daily. 
No kind ol poultry will succeed on bare boards. All the water they need is 
best furnished by burying an old pot in the ground and laying a round piece 
of board on top of the water with room for the ducks to stick their heads in 
and fish out the com that is put in the water. This amuses them and does 
no harm, while, if allowed to go off to ponds or streams, they are very liable 
to fall a prey to vermin in some shape, or to get their bodies wet and chilled 
from remaining too long in the water. Their pens must be kept clean if they 
are expected to thrive. 

Gapes iu Fowls. —The parasite that causes gapes in fowls is of a red 
color and about three-quarters of an inch long. The remedies are numer¬ 
ous, but chiefly consist in removing the worms. One way is to moisten a 
feather from which all but the tip of the web has been stripped, with oil, 
salt water, or a weak solution of carbolic acid, introduce it into the wind¬ 
pipe, twist it around once or twice, and then Avithdraw it. A teaspoonful of 
sulphur mixed with a quart of corn meal and water, and fed to the fowls 
morning and evening, is also a good remedy. 

The Poultry World says: As soon as we discover any symptoms of gapes 
among our chickens, we know that there are worms—very small red worms 
—in their windpipes, and we give them camphor in their drinking vessels 
strong enough to make quite a taste of the camphor. Then, if any get the 
disease quite badly before we discover it, we force a pill of gum camphor 
down the throat, about the size of a small pea, and the fumes of that dose 
will kill the worms. No kind of worms can live in camphor; hence, camphor 
must be a powerful vermifuge. 

A Connecticut poultry raiser writes: “Perhaps some who raise fowls ■will 
be interested in my experiment tried last season on a chicken with the gapes. 
I gave it about a quarter of a teaspoonful of kerosene, and as it seemed bet- 


219 


THE POULTRY YARD. 

ter for a day or two, I repeated the dose, giving nearly one half a teaspoon¬ 
ful for the second time. The chicken was about the size of a robin at the 
time, but is now full-grown, weighing several pounds. I cured chickens 
affected with a disease we thought cholera, by giving powdered alum dis¬ 
solved in water.” 

Eggs.— How Increased.—If an increase of eggs be desired in the poul¬ 
try yard, before large sums are expended in the purchase of everlasting lay¬ 
ers, we would recommend the system of keeping no hens after the first, or at 
most, after the second year. Early pullets give the increase, and the only 
wonder is that people persist, as they do, in keeping up a stock of old hens, 
which lay one day and stop the next. In some parts of Europe it is the in¬ 
variable rule to keep the pullets only one year. Feeding will do a great 
deal—a surprising work indeed—in the production of eggs, but not when old 
hens are concerned; they may put on fat, but they cannot put down eggs. 
Their tale is told, their work is done; nothing remains to be done with them 
but to give them a smell of the kitchen fire, and the sooner they get that the 
better. 

Late Chickens. —Late chicks may be more profitable than early ones. 
Chickens from eggs set in August and September may be kept warm in a 
tight, glazed house, and fed so that they will grow continually through the 
winter, and if they come later all the better, if they are well kept and fed. 
The e»rly broods will be salable at good prices, when the market is bare of 
chickens, and the later ones will furnish spring chickens long before the 
usual supply comes to hand. Spring chickens hatched in fall, or even in 
winter, are rare, but not entirely unknown to a few persons who made tli© 
discovery that with good feed, warm quarters, a warm mess at least once a 
day, warm drink and cleanliness, there is no difficulty at all about raising 
them, and at a good profit. 

Cure for Scaly Legs in Fowl. —A sure cure of scaly legs in fowl is 
effected thus: Insert a feather in the spout of a coal oil can so that too large 
a stream will not run out; get some one to hold the fowl by the wings; take 
hold of a toe of one foot at a time, and pour a fine stream from the hock 
joint to the end of each toe, taking care that all parts of the foot are wet with 
it. One application a year is enough, if done at all, and at the time when 
they need it, say during January or February. The scaly appearance is 
caused by an insect, which the oil most effectually kills, and leaves the legs 
clear and bright looking. This will answer even when the legs are twice 
their natural size, which is frequently the case when neglected. 

Roup. —Fowls exposed to dampness in severe weather are apt to take 
cold, which often culminates in roup. The writer has cured this disease by 
injecting kerosene into the nostrils by the means of a bulb syringe, and then 
using it to gargle the throat. The latter is effected by holding the throat 
close enough to prevent swallowing, and, after the gargling, pouring the 
liquid out on to the ground. Repeat this once the next day; then feed with 
boiled rice and scalded milk, keeping water away for a few days. 

To Get Rid of Skunks —To rid your poultry yard of skunks, purchase 
a few grains of strychnine, roll it up in a ball of lard, and then throw it at 
night outside the yard, where the animals’ tracks are seen. As they are 
very fond of lard, they will swallow it quickly, and in the morning you will 





220 


1 


TEE FARM 


find your enemy dead. But you must be careful to shut up the dogs and 
cats, as they are equally fond of lard. It is the easiest way to kill any ver¬ 
min, as they die very soon. Skunks will kill and eat full-grown ducks and 
hens, and suck their eggs, whenever they can gain entrance into the poultry- 
house. 

Road-dust for tlie Hennery. —Collect a few barrels of dry earth, road- 
dust, fine dry dirt in the cornfield or potato patch, or anywhere that is most 
convenient. This is a handy thing to have in the fall and winter for sprink¬ 
ling under the roosts and on the floor of the poultry-house. It absorbs am¬ 
monia, keeps down smells, and keeps things ship-shape. It will pay to at¬ 
tend to this when it can be so easily done. It costs but little, and is a real 
advantage. 

Tlie Langslians. —There is a prominent feature of the Langshans not 
possessed by the Black Cochins, which is activity. They come in as an ex¬ 
tra desirable breed, between the leghorns and the sitters, for they commence 
to lay early, and when about to enter upon incubation are easily broken. 
They are large in size, fine-boned, hardy, and grow rapidly. They are the 
strongest rivals for public favor that the Plymouth Rocks have, and are just 
as certain to go to the front as if they had been known for centuries. Their 
qualities as a farmer’s fowl are good, and they will entirely supersede many 
other breeds in time. 

Poultry Manure. —Collect the droppings as often as possible, and com¬ 
post them with dry dirt. If dry dirt is inconvenient on account of the earth 
being frozen, use good ground land plaster instead. The mixture of ground 
plaster and poultry droppings is better than either alone, and the ammonia 
is thereby saved. A good dusting of plaster over and under the roosts, and 
plentifully scattered all over the floor of the poultry house, conduces to the 
health of fowls and destroys foul odors. 

How Nests Should be Made. —Eggs hatch much better if the nests are 
made by placing a cut turf, and shovel of mold, sand or ashes in the box or 
basket, and on this a little short straw, than if straw only is used. In this 
way a convenient hollow is obtained that prevents the eggs rolling out from 
under the setting hen. In cool weather the eggs are thus kept of a much 
more equable temperature than in nests made simply of loose straw. 

To Fatten Reese—To fatten geese, an experienced practitioner says: 
Put up two or three in a darkened room and give each bird one pound" of 
oats daily, thrown on a pan of water. In fourteen days they will be found 
almost too fat. Never shut up a single bird, as geese are sociable and will 
pine away if left alone. 

Nests Of Sawdust..—To prevent hens from scratching their nests make 

the nests of sawdust. Do not have the boxes too large_only long enough 

for two nests, Avitli a partition. Place a little hay on the sawdusUmtil the 
hens get accustomed to it; also sulphur, to prevent vermin. 

Hens Eating Eggs— If hens get into the habit of eating eggs, take 
enough bian and coin meal of equal parts for one feeding, and enough vine¬ 
gar warmed to make the meal wet enough for the hens to eat. Mix together 
and feed it to the hens. 


I , / 


THE DAIRY. 


Apparatus for Blilltiug. —Absolute cleanliness in milk is as much to 
be desired as in any other article of food. We fear that farmers and dairy¬ 
men, as a rule, do not give as 
much attention to this mat¬ 
ter as it really requires. We 
present herewith an illus¬ 
trated article on this subject 
from the pen of a practical 
dairyman, which we consider 
worthy of attention, and 
ti’ust that many will profit by 
its suggestion: 

“ Every reasonable person 
desires to have his or her 
food perfectly clean. Milk and 
dairy products are not always 
clean, to put it very, mildly, 
and the filth that finds its way 
into milk is of a very dis¬ 
agreeable, if not unwhole¬ 
some, kind. As a large por¬ 
tion of the milk of a family 
cow—and much of that sold 
—is used by children, owners 
of cows should be excessively 
careful to have the milk perfectly clean and pure. This is easy to be done 
if it is desired. It requires only the determination to do it, and a very 

little attention. The cow is not a cleanly 
animal, by any means, and some cows seem 
to delight in making themselves filthy. One of 
my best cows will take pains to lie down di¬ 
rectly in her droppings, so that the udder is 
always besmeared, and other cows are very 
careless about it, at the best, so that it is neces¬ 
sary that a part of every milking apparatus 
should consist of a pail of water, a sponge 
and towel. Before the cow is milked the udder 
should be washed and wiped dry. For this 
purpose I have used a pail arranged as shown 
in the engraving (Fig. 1), which is taken 
to the barn at every milking. Previously the 
stable-man has brushed and carded the cows, 
and has cleaned and sanded or littered the 
floor, so that there is no coarse filth to remove, and only the remaining 
smears. But if these are left on the teats, the filth will get into the pail irj 



















































222 


THE FARM . 



STRAINER.— FIG. 3. 


spite of all efforts. The pail has a hook on one side upon which the sponge 
is carried, and a box on the other, in which an old towel or pieces of 
cloth are kept. With these the udder and teats are washed and dried before 
the cow is milked. The time used—not lost—is well spent. 

“ The milking pail should be provided with a strainer, and I have found 

none made for sale free from some objection, 
either as regards the difficulty of cleaning or dura¬ 
bility. I have my pails made to order with the 
strainer upon the half cover of the pail at the edge, 
and with a lip at the edge to cause the milk to flow 
easily. (See Fig. 2.) There is no difficulty in 
washing this pail, the wire gauze cannot be broken 
in the washing, and it is perfectly cleaned with 
ease. Hairs cannot be kept out of milk at some 
seasons, and a fine hair carried lengthwise will 
pass through the finest wire cloth. It is therefore 
necessary to use precautions in straining. A hair 
will not pass through a cotton cloth, and in strain¬ 
ing milk into a deep pail I use the strainer shown at 
Fig. 3, which has a piece of washed, somewhat 
coarse and thin, w'hite muslin, fastened around 
the bottom hoop. This causes the milk to pass 
through three strainers at one time, which is sufficient. W T here the milk of 
several cows is strained, the strainer should be rinsed after each use, other¬ 
wise the after milk passes over all the impurities gathered in the strainer. 
For shallow pans the double strainer, Fig. 4, is excellent. The middle 
strainer fits closely into the bottom of the basin over tho fixed strainer, and 
the basin rests in the perforated hoop 
which stands in the milk pan. A cloth 
may be tied over the top of the basin if 
thought proper. With all these precau¬ 
tions the most complete cleanliness is 
within easy reach, and if the cow is 
healthy and well fed, the most fastidi¬ 
ous person may drink the milk without 
any apprehension. While it is so easy 
to be clean the conscientious dairyman 
need have no excuse for violating pro¬ 
priety, and excuse himself by the idea 
that it can’t be helped. 

“ Every dairy utensil should be of 
tin. No wooden vessel should be used 
in milking, as the wood absorbs the 
milk, which sours in the pores and there 
curdles, and every particle of curdled 
milk, whether effected by rennet or by 
acidity, like the leaven of yeast, is an 
active agent for souring other milk. As 
curd of milk is hardened by heat and made insoluble, dairy utensils should 
first be washed with cold water and soap, and when thoroughly well cleaned 
they may then be scalded. Curd is dissolved by alkali, and the free alkali 
of the soap not only removes the grease of the milk, but also any particles of 
milk which by an accident may have been retained in a crevice or corner, 



DOUBLE STRAINER.—FIG. 4 . 
































TEE DAIRY, 


223 


and there soured or curdled. To make the cleaning of dairy vessels more 
easy, it is well to have no sharp corners, but to have all the joints made 
round, and this may be done easily if one has the milk pails made to order.” 

Milk Cooler. —There are quite a number of devices for this purpose, and 
some of them are too com¬ 
plicated, which must al¬ 
ways be a serious objection. 

Our engraving represents 
an English milk cooler, 
which is heartily commend¬ 
ed. In this apparatus a 
very small quantity of cold 
water, passing upward in a 
very thin stream between 
two corrugated sheets of 
metal, rapidly abstracts the 
heat from two shallow 
streams of milk descending 
outside the metal sheets 
(Fig. 1). D is the inlet and 
F the outlet of the water, 
which, being supplied from 
a higher level, flows 
through the refrigerator 
(B) by the force of gravity. 

A tap of the milk receiver 
(A) regulates the flow of 
milk into a small trough at 
the top of the refrigerator, 
punctured with holes, 
through which the milk 
runs, and is spread into so milk cooler.— FIG. 1. 

fine a sheet that, instead of 

falling rapidly from step to step, it follows the corrugations of the surface. 
In the enlarged section/Fig. 2) of a part of the refrigerator the descending 
arrows indicate the current of milk gradually cooling as it descends. The 
current of water passing upward is warmed, so that when it passes out 
of the spout at F it is very nearly of the same temperature as the milk 

in the receiver. This device appears to 
be quite simple. 

How to Make Good Butter. —Be 

sure the pasture is of the best, and that it 
contains a variety of the sweetest grasses. 
Do not change from winter feed to spring- 
pasture too suddenly, and, particularly, 
do not turn out your cows too early to 
shift for themselves. Let the milking be done by quiet persons, whether 
male or female, at regular times morning or evening, knowing always that 
the milking is conducted as cleanly as it is quietly. 

Know that the utensils for holding the milk are of the best description 
and always scrupulously clean, 



MILK COOLER.—FIG. 2. 

























































224 


THE FARM. 


See that the milk is perfectly cooled to free it of animal odor. A ther¬ 
mometer is an absolute necessity in all well regulated dairies. 

Be sure the room for setting milk is cool, and so it may be darkened at 
will. Thorough ventilation is one of the golden rules in dairying. The 
temperature of the dairy room should never be more than sixty degrees, nor 
less than forty degrees. 

Skim the milk as soon as the first indications of getting thick from lopper 

are shown. Turn the cream 
slowly into the jar, and stir 
thoroughly when more 
cream is added. Keep the 
receptacle for the cream 
cool, from fifty to sixty de¬ 
grees, and cover with some 
fabric that will keep out 
minute insects, and at the 
same time allow access 
of air. 

power for churning.—fig. 1. Chum when the cream 

is ripe, that is, when the 
cream is sour, every day in spring, and every day in summer. Do not allow 
the cream in the churn to rise much above sixty degrees. Do not churn too 
fast. There is nothing gained by seeking to bring the butter in a few 
minutes. From twenty to thirty minutes is about right. 

Good grass will make nice colored butter. At such seasons, when the 
color of butter is pale, use coloring carefully. It is better that butter be 
rather light than a dark yellow. 

When the butter comes in granules, stop churning. Wash with cold water 
or cold brine; work only enough 
to bring it to a firm uniform 
mass. Do not salt heavily; from 
three-quarters to one ounce of 
salt to a pound of butter is 
enough. Pack in tight, clean, 
sweet packages; fill to within a 
half inch of the top, cover with 
a clean cloth, and add brine to 
fill until sold. Keep it in the 
coolest place you have, and 
there is no reason why you 
should not get the top prices 
for your butter. 

Power for Churning.— 

We present four illustrations, 
with brief descriptions, showing 
practical methods for labor saving in the usually tiresome and monotonous 
business of churning, from which may be gleamed some valuable hints. 

Fig. 1, although not a power churn, is, nevertheless, a labor-saving 
arrangement. It is simply a hickory sapling about twelve or fourteen feet 
long, fastened firmly at the butt end, while at the other end is fixed a seat in 
which a child can sit and perform the work with more ease than a grown 
person in the ordinary way. The dash of the churn may be fastened at any 



POWER FOR CHURNING.—FIG. 2. 

































THE HAIRY. 


225 


point to accommodate the spring of the pole. Fig. 2 is a vertical wheel with 
a rim about two feet in width, on the inside of which the animal treads. It 
is necessary to have this wheel 
as much as eight or ten feet in 
diameter. The engraving 
gives ample insight into its 
mechanical construction. 

Fig. 3 is a water-power 
churn, showing the water 
wheel fitting easily into the 
box or flume, at the outlet of 
the dam, or it may be simply 
placed in a swift-running 
brook, as it does not require 
much power or speed. The 
w r heel should be about three 
feet in diameter. The power 
can be transmitted any dis¬ 
tance bv means of two wires 
•/ 

fastened upon poles with 
swing trees that receive a 
backward and forward motion 
from the crank of the water¬ 
wheel. 

Fig. 4 represents a cheap 
churn power, which is both 
simple and practical. A is a 
log, squared and set in the 
ground far enough to be solid. 

B is the sweep—a four-inch scantling sixteen feet long, with a two-inch hole 
in one end and an axle on the other, and holes in the center for the standard, 
according to the length of the dash. C is the drive-wheel, eighteen inches 

in diameter, three inches 
thick. D, the churn, which 
stands still on a small one- 
legged table, with the leg 
running through the sweep 
(B) and into the stationary 
block. This arrangement 
gives the dasher (E) tw-o 
motions, and causes the but¬ 
ter to “come” in shorter 
time. F, beam guide; G, 
beam; H, standard; I, hitch¬ 
ing stick; J, wliiffletree; K, 
pitman. It is very easy to 
operate. 

Hard Churning and 
Blue Cream. —It is a very 
common thing for a person with one cow to complain that her cream will uot 
churn, or that it churns with great difficulty. The reason is the cream is 
kept so long to get a churning that it becomes too sour. Putting in either 







































THE FA HU. 


226 

bicarbonate of soda or sal soda will reduce the acid and help the butter to 
come, but the butter thus made is always inferior. The remedy is to churn 
oftener, say every other day, or if the weather is a little cool, twice a week, 
and to put in milk to make sufficient bulk for churning. The skimming, too, 
should be done early—as soon as the cream is all up, or pretty near all up* 
It is better to take in the top of the milk in which the last rising of the 
cream lingers, than wait for the milk to get stale before removing the cream. 
The practice which many people follow of letting the whey start on the milk 
before skimming or on the cream before churning, is to a high degree detri¬ 
mental both to the churning and to the quantity and quality of butter. If 
easy churning is desired, the cream must be churned while it has a fresh 
and new taste—not later than the first stage of sourness. 

The “ blue or moldy-looking cream ” is not peculiar to any breed, and it 
occurs in the milk of all cows if they and their milk are improperly cared 
for. The cream of any milk may take on a dark or moldy appearance if too 
long exposed to light and to a damp atmosphere. It is more easily induced 
in the milk of cows which, from any cause, have had their blood heated, or 
by exposure to hot sun, by too fast or too much driving or from feverishness 
by excessive feeding, etc. Milk inclined to have flecks in its cream is very 
easily made to assume a moldy condition, for the dark color is derived from 
an actual fungus which develops in the milk and cream. An unusually 
ready development of it is evidence that the cow is in some way sick—from 
over feeding or other causes. There is always in milk a variable quantity of 
albuminous matter which turns dark-colored upon exposure to air and light, 
but it is heavier than cream and heavier also than the serum of milk, and is 
inclined to settle to the bottom. This has probably no connection with dark- 
colored cream; it is more likely the result of unfavorable health and damp¬ 
ness of cellar. 

To Keep Butter. —It is said that a compound of one part sugar, 
one part nitre, and two parts of the best Spanish salt, beaten together 
into a fine powder and mixed thoroughly with the butter in the pro¬ 
portion of one ounce to the pound, would keep the butter in every respect 
sweet and sound during two years. It is also said to impart a rich 
marrowy flavor that no other butter ever acquires, and tastes very little 
of the salt. 

Cream and Cold. —It has been discovered by a French scientist that the 
rising of cream is quicker, and its volume greater, the nearer the 
temperature is to that of freezing water; further, that the yield ot butter 
is greater, and the skim milk, butter and cheese are all of the better 
quality under like conditions. These facts should be worth the attention of 
dairy keepers. 

Waterproof Butter Wrappers —At the Pennsylvania State Fair in 
1882 waterproof butter wrappers attracted considerable attention from 
dairymen. Advocates of the waterproof paper claim for it that, being air¬ 
tight, it preserves the freshness and flavor of the butter, and is about one- 
sixth as expensive as cloth. 

To Restore Rancid Butter —Rancid butter can be restored by first 
washing it thoroughly in cold water, then to every one hundred pounds add 
two pounds pulverized sugar, two ounces powdered saltpetre, and salt to 
suit. 


THE DAI nr. 


22? 

An Improved Butter-Worker. —This butter-worker consists of a table 
of maple (Fig. 1), or other hard sweet timber, in the form shown in the en¬ 
graving, with three feet sides and six feet on curve, without side pieces. At 
each edge is a deep groove to conduct the brine. At the front end is a rim, 
projecting one-half inch above the plank. At the lower end is a deeper cross¬ 
groove, with outlet at one side of the projecting bed-piece. In this bed-piece 
is loosely set a post with a 
round tenon fastened by a 
pin beneath. In this post is 
set the lever, so loosely as 
to admit of lifting the han¬ 
dle of the lever a foot or 
more. This lever is held in 



the mortise by a pin, and 
sets one-eighth of an inch 
above the table at the post; 
is of maple, four inches 
wide and three inches thick; 
lower side square cornered 
plain, upper side rounded 
or cornered. The handle is 
wrought at the upper side, 
leaving a shoulder below, which sets just within the rim of the table. 

Fig. 2 shows the frame-work of the table, into which the legs are formed. 
The entire cost of this butter-worker will not exceed $3. The operation, 
which differs from that of other workers in use, consists of pressing the but¬ 
ter with a direct vertical pressure—no grinding strokes allowable. Then 
strike the left side of the butter with a right upward motion of the lever a 
few strokes, and it lies in a roll parallel to the lever. Now turn the roll at 
right angles to the lever, and continue the three operations of pressing, 

rolling, and turning, until it is 
sufficiently worked. 

French Butter Making. 

—In the French system the 
butter is made from very sour 
cream, is washed in the churn, 
not salted, but sold for present 
use in Paris and England, and 
the keeping quality is not 
much studied. Notwithstand¬ 
ing the extreme sourness of the 
cream when churned, the but¬ 
ter has almost the same ap¬ 
pearance as that made from 
sweet cream—this is the result of the washing. The finest French butter is 
shipped at once to the consumers, and generally consumed before the end of 
three days; so its keeping qualities are not material. No salt is used for the 
home market. It is put up in large balls of 28 lbs. to 40 lbs., each ball being 
covered by a piece of fine flannel and placed in a willow basket. Second and 
third-class butter is made up in one pound rolls and packed in grape leaves. 
For the English market, butter is put up in one pound rolls and covered 
with jaconet and lace paper, and packed in small boxes 14x9x6 inches, twelve 


£ 


GL 


A 


IMPROVED BUTTER-WORKER.— FlO. 2. 

















228 


THE FARM. 


rolls in each box. M. Lepelletier is the largest exporter of this kind of but¬ 
ter, and is said to ship 1,200 boxes per week, his trade amounting to 12,000,- 
000 francs per year. It is sent in refrigerating cars. In Paris all butter is 
sold by auction at ten markets. Women are mostly the buyers. Three or 
four hundred lots are sold every hour. Sworn officials weigh and register 
the butter, and make up the accounts of sale. The different kinds of butter 
are named from the places where they are made, and classified according to 
quality. The best butter is sold at 50 and 75 cents per pound. 

Preparing Butter for Market.— After the milk has been kept in the 
spring or cooling house about forty-eight hours, it is then taken out and 
skimmed, and after the butter is made it is put up in half-pound prints for 
market. It is shipped in boxes, having an ice chamber in the center. The 
boxes are 31 by 16 1-2 inches and 15 inches deep. The ice chest is of tin, 
placed in the center of the box, and is 16 1-2 by 5 inches, 15 inches deep. At 
the bottom there is a hole, which extends also through the box, for the es¬ 
cape of water from the ice as it melts. Movable shelves with cleats on the 
edges, are fitted in each side of the ice chest, one above the other, for hold¬ 
ing the prints. The box holds 10 shelves, 5 on each side of the ice chamber, 

and the shelves, when in 
place, leave a space between 
each of 2 1-2 inches. We 
give a rough draft of the 
movable shelf in our illus¬ 
tration. Each shelf holds 
20 prints, or 10 pounds of 
butter. In packing the but¬ 
ter a plain board is used to 
receive the prints at the 
bottom of the box; then the 

movable shelf fob holping butter prints, shelf, as illustrated, is 

placed on top, and thus con¬ 
tinued until the whole number of prints are in. A movable shelf just com¬ 
ing to the top of the box is placed over the top prints, so that when the lid 
of the box is brought down it presses tightly on it and thus keeps the shelves 
from shaking and prevents any injury to the prints. 

Keeping Butter for Winter Use. —Good butter put up after the follow¬ 
ing directions will keep in sound condition on* year: Use for a package a tub 
somewhat tapering, with heavy staves and heads provided at both ends, so 
as to make a package that will not leak. In packing the tub is turned on 
the small end, and a sack of cotton cloth is made to fit the tub, and into this 
the butter is packed until it reaches to within an inch of the groove for hold¬ 
ing the upper head. A cloth is next laid upon the top of the butter and the 
edges of the sack brought over this and neatly pressed down; then the head 
is put in its place and the hoops driven home. The package is now turned 
upon the large end and the sack of butter drops down, leaving a space on 
the sides and lop. Strong brine is then poured into a hole in the small end 
and until it will float the butter. The hole is tightly corked and the butter 
is pretty effectually excluded from the air. Where only a small quantity of 
butter is to be preserved, pack it in self-sealing fruit jars. By this plan a 
little brine is put into the jar, which is then packed not quite full of granu¬ 
lated butter. Some bleached muslin is laid over the butter, then the little 













THE 1)A IHT. 


229 


place above filled with salt, and finally enough strong brine, made from 
butter salt, poured in to fill the can. When packing roll butter in jars the 
brine should be made strong enough to bear an egg. To three gallons of 
this brine add a quarter of a pound of white sugar and one tablespoonful of 
saltpetre. Boil the brine, and Avhen it is cool strain carefully. Make the 
butter into rolls and wrap each roll separately in white muslin cloth. Pack 
the jar full, weight the butter down, and submerge in brine. 

Suggestions in Milk-Setting —Professor L. B. Arnold says: 

First —To make the finest flavored and longest-keeping butter the cream 
must undergo a ripening process by exposure to the oxygen of the air while 
it is sweet. This is best done while it is rising. The ripening is very tardy 
« when the temperature is low. 

Second —After cream becomes sour, the more ripening the more it depre¬ 
ciates. The sooner it is then skimmed and churned the better, but it should 
not be churned while too new. The best time for skimming and churning is 
just before acidity becomes apparent. 

Third —Cream makes better butter to rise in cold air than to rise in cold 
water, but it will rise sooner in cold water, and the milk will keep sweet 
longer. 

Fourth —The deeper milk is set the less airing the cream gets while rising. 

Fifth —The depth of setting should vary with the temperature; the lower 
it is the deeper milk may be set; the higher, the shallower it should be. 
Milk should never be set shallow in a low temperature nor deej:> in a high 
one. Setting deep in cold water economizes time, labor and space. 

Sixth —While milk is standing for cream to rise the purity of the cream, 
and consequently the fine flavor and keeping of the butter, will be injured if 
the surface of the cream is exposed freely to air much warmer than the cream. 

Seventh —When cream is colder than the surrounding air, it takes up 
moisture and impurities from the air. When the air is colder than the cream, 
it takes up moisture and whatever escapes from the cream. In the former 
case the cream purifies the surrounding air; in the latter, the air helps to 
purify the cream. The selection of a creamer should hinge on what is most 
desired—highest quality, or greatest convenience and economy in time, space 
and labor. 

First Principles in Bntter Making. —Butter is finished in the dairy, 
but not made there. The stamp of the dairy woman puts the gold in market 
form; but the work must be commenced in the field or in the feeding stables; 
and this leads at once to the consideration of feeding for butter. During the 
early, sunny summer month, when nature is profuse of favors, there is little 
to be done beyond accepting her bounty. The tender grasses are full of the 
needed nutrition, and they afford the constant supply of moisture without 
which the secretion of milk is greatly lessened. Yet, at this season, as well 
as all others, a pure supply of water is absolutely necessary. It does not 
meet tho requirement if cattle have a wet hole full of surface drainage in the 
pasture, or a frog pond. While it is not probable that the tadpoles and wrig¬ 
glers sometimes found in city milk have been drunk by thirsty cows, many 
infusions do exist in such pools that are hardly eliminated or rendered en¬ 
tirely harmless by the wonderful milk secretions of the animal. The cattle 
should drink from spring-fed boxes; and as often as these, under the hot 
sun, are seen to produce green growth or floating scum a pail of coarse salt 
may be put in, and the current checked until the fresh-water growths are 


230 


THE FARM. 


killed; the salt water is then drawn off, and for a long time the trough will 
remain pure and the water bright. 

Bitter Milk _Bitter milk is a matter of frequent occurrence every fall 

and winter, or soon after the cows are off from grazing. It is caused, fiist, 
bv bitter herbs in the hay—such as May weed, rag weed, John s wort, etc. 
and also by the use of too much over-ripe food, such as straw, corn stover, 
or late-cut hay. It never occurs when cows are f d on good food, and are 
thriving, or even holding their own, and are kept comfortably warm. It can 
be avoided, first, by correcting the error in feeding and exposure; and, sec¬ 
ondly, by scalding the milk when it is first drawn, by setting it in pans over 
a kettle of boiling water till the skin which forms on its top is well wrinkled, 
and then setting it away to cool for the cream to l’ise. This treatment will 
drive out the cause of the bitter flavor, and improve the butter and make it 
easy to chum. 

Borax for Salting Butter. —The Italian minister of agriculture ad¬ 
dressed a communication to the chamber of commerce of Milan relative to 
experiments in salting butter with borax which have beeu carried out at the 
agricultural station at Florence. From the account which appears in the 
Giornole di AgricoUura , borax would appear to have a most marvelous effect 
in insuring its absolute preservation. Samples ot fresh butter made at the 
Florence station, and purposely not carefully freed of their buttermilk, were 
found, on the addition of about eight per cent, of borax, to maintain their 
natural fine flavor, without the least change whatever, for upward of three 
months. To attain this satisfactory result, it is necessary that the borax 
should be perfectly dry, and in a very fine powder, and care must be taken 
to its thorough mixture Avith the Avhole mass of the butter operated on. 
Among the further advantages of this plan, it is noted that borax imparts no 
flavor of any kind to the butter, while it is entirely harmless in its nature, 
and also reasonably cheap. Still later experiments have shown that a very 
much smaller proportion of borax suffices to produce the desired effect, and 
also that simple solutions of the salt act quite as Avell as the dried powder. 

Won’t Flavor Your Butter too Much. —It is too true that unless we 
adopt the improvements of the day and look carefully after our interests, avc 
shall be left in the background as to quality and profit. But Avhy is it that 
western creamery butter brings a better price ? We are told it is because of 
its uniformity of quality. The butter is made from day to day, from week 
to week under the same conditions, and ahvays free from anything that would 
impart unpleasant flavors. Milk set in a farmer’s kitchen or in any place 
Avhere it will absorb unpleasant odors from cooking vegetables, from to¬ 
bacco smoko or from clothing fully charged Avith the odor of the stables, 
cannot make butter free from unpleasant flavor. We complain of Ioav prices 
received when Ave ourselves are to blame. The flavor of the butter is af¬ 
fected by the feed of the cows. We lay the blame at the door of the daixy 
woman, Avhen he Avho feeds the cows is responsible. 

To Color Butter. —As a rule, it is absolutely essential in the winter to 
color butter in order to make it marketable, or at all attractive as an article 
of table use at home. There may be a possible exception to this rule, in 
cases where cows are fed largely upon yelloAv corn, pumpkins, carrots, etc., 
but this does not lessen the importance of the rule. Of the various sub¬ 
stances used in coloi-ing butter, we think that carrots (of the deep yellow 


THE DAIRY 


231 


variety) give the most natural color and most agreeable flavor. Annatto, 
however, is principally used, with most satisfactory results. If carrots are 
used, take two large-sized ones, clean them thoroughly, and then with a 
knife scrape off the yellow exterior, leaving the white pith; soak the yellow 
part in boiling milk ten or fifteen minutes. Strain boiling hot into the cream; 
this gives the cream the desired temperature, colors it nicely, and adds to 
the sweetness of the butter. 

How to Detect Oleomargarine —A Frenchman points out in a note to 
the Belgian Academy a simple way of distinguishing between natural and 
artificial butter, based upon the different behavior of the two substances 
when exposed to a temperature of from 150 degrees to 160 degrees in a cap¬ 
sule or test tube. At this temperature artificial butter produces very little 
froth, but the mass undergoes a sort of irregular boiling, accompanied by 
violent jerks, which tend to project some of the butter out of the vessei. 
The mass grows brown, but this is by reason of the caseous matter separa¬ 
ting into clots on the walls. The fatty portion of the sample sensibly retains 
its natural color. Natural butter, on the other hand, at the same tempera¬ 
ture, produces abundant froth, the jerks are much less pronounced, and the 
mass grows brown, but in a different way. A good part of the brown color¬ 
ing matter remains in suspension in the butter, so that the whole mass has 
a characteristic brown look. All natural butter behaves in the same way. 

Firm Butter Without Ice.—In families where the dairy is small, a 
good plan to have the butter cool and firm Avithout ice is by the process of 
evaporation, as practiced in India and other Avarm countries. A cheap plan 
is to get a very large-sized, porous, earthen floAver-pot, with a large saucer. 
Half fill the saucer with Avater, set it in a trivet or light stand—such as is 
used for holding hot irons Avill do; upon this set your butter; over the whole 
invert the floAver-pot, letting the top rim of it rest in and be covered by the 
Avater; then close the hole in the bottom of the flower-pot Avith a cork; then 
dash water over the flower-pot, and repeat the process several times a day, 
or Avhenever it looks dry. If set in a cool place, or where the AA r ind can bloAv 
on it, it will readily evaporate the water from the pot, and the butter will be 
as firm and cool as if from an ice-house. 


THE APIARY. 


Wintering Bees.—For the benefit of those who are interested in the 
subject of bee-keeping, we present herewith an illustrated article upon win¬ 
tering bees, the suggestions 
in which we think will be 
found both valuable and 
timely. 

Prepare, of any sound 
matched flooring, a plat¬ 
form nailed to 2x4 or 3x3 
joists. When ready, set it 
upon blocks or stones, and 

j_ platform h will appear as shown i n 

Fig. 1. On this you are to 
put the bee hives, eight in number, and arranged as stated further on; also 
a north-end board, two side boards, a south-endvboard and a movable cover 

or roof. The arrangement - _,__ 

of your hives should be as 
shown in Fig. 2, where a is 
the north-end board, made 
square, but with cleats, as 
in the next figure; and bb ^ 
are two hives with their en¬ 
trances facing tho south; 
ccc are three hives with 
their entrances to the east; 

ddd are three hives with Li----1* 

their entrances to the west. fig. 2.—arrangement of hives. 

Tho object of this arrange¬ 
ment is to vary as far as possible the entrances, that the bees be less con¬ 
fused when they fly out in winter. Experience shows that most of them find 

out their own hives by this arrangement. 

Fig. 3 shows the inside of the north- 
end piece of the boxing about the hives, 
the outside of which is perfectly plain, 
and a a are two cleats that hold tho 
boards together, with the square wall 
cleat at the bottom and the longer cleat 
close by the first cleat, the three cleats 
making an inch space, marked dark, 
which dark places allow the side pieces 
to rest in and be held to the north piece. Fig. 4 shows first the outside of the 
south-end piece, and that it has two cleats, but that the boards do not go 
down to the bottom of them. The construction of this south piece is further 
seen in the end view, at the right hand of the larger view. 





FIG. 2.—ARRANGEMENT OF HIVES. 



















































































THE APIARY. 





FIG. 4. —OUTSIDE OF END PIECE. 


FIG. 5. —VIEW OF SIDE PIECE. 


Fig. 5 is a view of the west side boxing piece. It has two cleats at the 
ends, a a. The one at the left 
hand is a little in from the end, 
as that end fits the dark place 
in the left end of Fig. 3. Two 
cleats, shaped as in the small 
figure of Fig. 4, are on the mid¬ 
dle parts of the view. They 
serve the same purpose as in 
the large figure in Fig. 4. You 
need not be told that a corre¬ 
sponding east piece is to be 
made. Now arrange hooks, or other contrivances, and put this boxing to¬ 
gether about your hives, ar¬ 
ranged as shown in Fig. 2, 
and you have it ready to pack 
the bees. The best packing 
is dry saw-dust, or cut straw; 
cut it not over an inch long. 
Pack all about the hives, and 
at least six inches thick over 
the top of the hives. Now 
make a roofing; the form, as shown by Fig. 6, which is made of triangular 
boards, with boards nailed on the top of them. When done, the whole will 
appear as in Fig. 7, which shows 
the two hives, the south-end hav¬ 
ing three small entrances, too 
small for a mouse or rat to get in 
at, and an inch round hole just 
over the three entrances, which 
hole is covered with wire cloth; 
these are all the holes for venti¬ 
lation necessary. The dotted 

lines show the form of an ordinary box hive, a foot square and a foot high. 
Of course, in making your platform and boxing, you will make them to fit 

the hive you use, which will 
alter lengths and breadths a 
little, but not the general 
shape of what we have de¬ 
scribed. Tbe side view 
would be so similar to Fig. 7 
that we do not give it. Ob¬ 
serve this in putting your 
bees in winter quarters: If 
November 1st to 16th passes 
so cold that bees fly littl#, 
this is a good time to pack 
them in this boxing. If it is 
so warm that they fly a good 
fig. 7. —appearance when complete. deal till December 1st or 

16th, then that time is the 

best. Let them have a few coolisli days without protection, and be shut up 
a week or so before you change them from their summer stands to this win- 


FIG. 6.- DESIGN OF ROOF. 





























































234 


THE FARM. 


ter packing. Leave the bottom boards of your hives on, and put a little 
sawdust under them. A bee-house is useful if it has a large window in the 
floor, for all operations that require to let the bees out in a room; then they 
fly to the window and get in bunches at its bottom near the floor, and when 

you are through with the changes 
to be made, they go easily into 
the hive. Make a tin reeling ma¬ 
chine; reel out your honey; put 
it in neat glass packages; make 
holes ou the side of your old- 
fashioned box hives, and get 
boxes everywhere—that is the se¬ 
cret of non-swarming; and make 
winter packing sheds as we have 
told you. 



Bee Panning in Australia. 

—We present herewith a very in¬ 
teresting article on the subject of 
bee farming, as practiced in New 
South Wales, Australia, where, 
as will be seen, the industry is 
carried on on a very extensive 
scale. The article is carefully 
illustrated and the methods em¬ 
ployed plainly described, and we 
trust that all who take an interest 
in the subject of bee keeping may 
gain some valuable hints and 
suggestions from a perusal of the 
same. 

The operations in bee culture 
going on in Paramatta are well 
deserving of being ranked as bee 
farming. They are carried on 
after the most approved system 
of the German apiarians, which 
differs only in the form of hive 
used and a few minor details 
from the approved system fol¬ 
lowed in Britain and America. 
But to get at the history of the 
company whose operations we 
illustrate: It appears that, in 
December, 1881, a skilled bee 
master, Wilhelm Abram, arrived 
in Sydney from Germany, where 
bee culture is a recognized indus¬ 
try and subsidized by the State, and is under the care of scientific entomolo¬ 
gists, for the purpose of teaching the art of bee culture to those desirous of 
making it their study, and at such an institution Mr. Abram was trained. 
Before leaving Germany he purchased some of the prize swarms at an exhi¬ 
bition of Italian bees in Germany, and the Italian Bee Company commenced 


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THE APIARY 


235 


operations with these at Parramatta, in January, 1882. An importation of 
prize queens from America was made, and the operation of queen rearing 



THE SWARMING BAG, A GREAT IMPROVEMENT. 


was entered on. In the meantime a number of colonies of the com¬ 
mon black or English bee had been secured and transferred to frame 
hives, and as Italian queens were reared, the black queens were removed 
and replaced by Italians, the progeny of which replaced the black bees, as 
the latter died out. Not much attention was paid to producing honey until 
the race of Italian bees could be firmly established, and the result was that 
in the spring of last year there were about eighty colonies of gold-banded 
Italians actively at work. 

The bee master is an adept at his profession. With a pipe in his mouth, 



THE QUEEN BREEUING HIVES 






























































































































































































































236 


THE FARM . 


he opens hive after hive, blowing a whiff of smoke upon them, to give the 

bees something else to think 


IPS 



CENTRIFUGAL MACHINE, SHOWING INSIDE. 


about when they seem any way 
refractory, a projection from the 
stem of the pipe allowing this to 
be done conveniently. The 
hives used are of the German 
bar-frame kind. They open 
from the back, and each hive is 
two stories high, so that ample 
space can be given to the bees 
when they are storing honey 
rapidly. The main house is 
about 150 feet in length, 10 feet 
high, 10 feet wide, and two tiers 
of hives are arranged on each 
side, as shown in the sketch. 

The swarming bag is one of 
the best tilings we have seen in 
bee culture. It is about six 
feet in length and one foot in 
diameter, and formed of alter¬ 
nate lengths of calico and mos¬ 
quito netting, each length having 
a ring of cane inside to hold out 
the bag, as shown in the sketch. 
"When the bees are about to 
swarm, the bag is fastened on to 
the front of the hive, and the 
When the queen emerges she bounds up into 


other end fastened to a stake, 
the upper end of the bag, and 
is quickly surrounded by her 
followers. Thus the swarm 
is captured with ease, the 
alternate breadths of mos¬ 
quito netting and calico mak¬ 
ing the interior light and 
enticing for the bees to enter 
and cluster. They are then 
shaken into a bar-frame hive. 

The queen breeding hives 
are much smaller than the 
others, and are arranged at 
distances of about twenty 
feet apart alongside the 
fences.- Two or three frames 
of brood comb are put into 
each hive, with a queen cell 
coming to maturity. When 
the queen bee hatches out of 
the cell she makes a flight 
(the only flight of her life) in order to meet a drone or male bee. She is 
then fertilized, and becomes the mother and queen of a family, laying eggs 



THE QUEEN CAGE. 




























































































THE APIARY. 237 

at the rate of 2,000 daily when the season is good and stores abundant. The 
centrifugal machine is used for extracting honey without destroying the 
comb. The caps with which the bees seal up each cell of honey are sliced 
off with a very thin-bladed knife of simple form, and the frames are set in 
the metal basket of the inside of the machine. Then, by turning the handle, 
the honey is thrown out and runs down the sides of the machine, from which 
it is drawn by a tap, leaving the comb undamaged and ready to be returned 
to the hives for the bees to till over and over again with nectar. In this way 
absolutely pure honey is got without any other substance whatever, and 
without injuring the bees or annoying them. The queen cage, as shown in 
illustration, is drawn to scale, as is the queen or mother bee seen inside. ■ 

Tlie C ulture of Buckwheat for Bees. —Prof. Cook gives the following 
on this subject: 

Buckwheat is valuable as a honey plant, as it can be made to bloom when 
there ivould otherwise be a dearth of flowers. We have found in our experi¬ 
mental beds that the Silver Hull variety has more flow r ers in the panicles, 
and yields more to the acre. The honey is dark, but is preferred to all other 
kinds by some people. It blooms from four to six weeks after sowing. 

It will do fairly well on any soil, but thrives best on a rich soil. It should 
be sown broadcast, three pecks to the acre. It is usually sown here late in 
July, but for bees it had better be sown early in June. Then it mil bloom 
about the middle of July, when bloom is usually absent, and will, I think, 
yield just as well; though I judge simply from observing small plots. Tho 
cultivation before sowing should be deep and thorough. 

When ripe it is cut and allowed to lie on the ground to dry. When dry it 
is bound and drawn to the barn, where it may be threshed at once, if it is 
desirable to do so. In fact, the cultivation, scil and harvesting of buckwheat 
are much the same as that given to oats. 

It is safe in estimating that each acre of buckwheat sown within one and 
one-half miles of an apiary is worth $100. 

Buckwheat, like other plants, is capricious. Some seasons it yields but 
little honey. It is not a favorite of bees; at least I have known bees to leave 
it for other plants. Perhaps it contained no nectar at the time. 

Will Bee Keeping Pay T —Of course it will. There is nothing that 
either men or women can engage in that will pay anywhere as well as bee 
culture; and there is nothing so well adapted for the farmers’ sons and 
daughters as bee keeping, and if they would take hold of four or five 
colonies of Italian bees they never would want for a few dimes to go to a 
strawberry festival, or perhaps they might want to go to that world-renowned 
exposition that always visits every village about the July days, and if they 
have been good, industrious boys and girls, and will have looked after bees, 
they will have the satisfaction of having their own money, and will not have 
to ask father for the money when he is so pushed with his crops and so short 
of money to pay his hands. But to make the keeping of bees a success, you 
must go into it understandingly, and if you have not already the bees on 
hand, you mil have to purchase a few colonies, and be sure to get Italians. 
If they are not in a movable comb they will have to be transferred. You 
will then have them in a hive that you have complete control over, even to 
examine every comb and seeing every bee or queen in the hive. 

Clipping tlie Queen’s Wing. —The clipping of the queen’s wing hav¬ 
ing become a matter of acknowledged good policy, as we knew it would, the 




FIIF FAFM. 


question naturally arises, What is the best method for clipping it ? We 
have tried all plans, and find the quickest, easiest and the least risk attend¬ 
ing the following: Lift from the hive the comb on which you find the queen, 
slant it toward the hive with the lower end resting on the ground and the 
upper end against the hive, make no rapid motions to alarm the queen, but 
deliberately wait till she is in a position that you can grasp the end of one 
wing between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, then with a sharp 
pocket knife and an up and backward motion cut off about one-third of the 
wing. If deliberate in your movements, the queen will not become 
nervous, nor will she be aware she had been meddled with, no scent of the 

fingers will be left on 



either her wings or 
body, and no commo¬ 
tion created in the hive. 


BEE HIVE.—FIG. 1. 


Ail Uiipatented 
Bee Hive. —Apiarians 
know full well the im¬ 
portance of providing 
the honey bee with a 
properly constructed 
and well arranged hive, 
in which these little 
workers may safely 
store the nectar care¬ 
fully gathered from the 
blossoming sweets o f 
earth. Many good and 
valuable hives for this 
purpose have been 
constructed, and are 
the subject of letters 
patent, for the manu¬ 
facture and use of 
which a royalty is re¬ 
quired by the owners 
thereof. 

The hive shown in 
connection with this ar¬ 
ticle is, beyond ques¬ 
tion, the simplest, 
cheapest, and best ar¬ 


ranged unpatented hive extant. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the hive as 
it appears upon the sand. In appearance it has a neat, unpretending look 
of self-recommendation. 

The advantages gained by having a passage for the bees at the bottom, 
and six inches upward therefrom, at one side of the hive, are: First. Dur¬ 
ing winter snow and ice accumulate in sufficient quantities to entirely fill 
and cover the lower series of holes, while the upper ones remain open, ad¬ 
mitting fresh air, the importance of which all apiarians are familiar with. 
Second. Bees alighting at the upper series of holes, upon returning from a 
long and fatiguing flight, have but a short distance to traverse to reach the 
place where the accumulated sweets are to be deposited. 


























































































































THE APIAHY. 


239 


The hive proper is 12x12x15—2,160 cubic inches, inside measurement, 
nhen filled with honey it weighs eighty pounds—a sufficient quantity to 
feed a large colony of bees during the season not fruitful of flowers. 

For supporting the comb in the desired position, small round sticks are 
used in the same manner as in the old box hive. The cover to this portion 
has its upper surface beveled near the edges, to receive and retain in 
position a small or upper hive, 
seven inches high and twelve 
inches square, inside dimensions. 

It is shown in proper place in Fig. 

1, and raised in Fig. 2, disclosing 
the surplus honey boxes, which 
are two in number, 11 1-2 x 6 x 5 1-2 
inches, outside measurement, 
made from quarter-inch pine lum¬ 
ber, with glass ends or sides, 
either plain or ornamental, as the 
contents may be designed for home 
consumption or exhibition at the 
sale-room, or to compete for pre¬ 
miums at fairs. Each of said boxes 
connects with the lower hive by 
four one-inch holes, which are 
made in hive and boxes at the time 
of their construction. They afford 
a sufficient passage-way to and 
from said boxes. The top of the 
hive is delineated in Fig. 3. One 
series of holes is shown, while the 
other is covered (in use both should be) by securing a thin strip in the 
proper position by screws. They remain thus until the hive is thought to be 
filled, or a sufficient quantity accumulated to successfully winter the bees. 
At this juncture carefully remove the screws, slightly raise the 
strip, place one of the surplus boxes at the end of the strip, and gradually, 
or by a dextrous movement, get it in place, as shown in Fig. 2. When 

both are in position, place over them 
the cover, and, unless you are care¬ 
less, not one bee is injured by the 
operation. Should the surplus boxes 
be provided with glass ends you may 
at any time during the season view the 
stores therein accumulated by raising 
the cover. At or soon after the ap¬ 
pearance of autumnal frosts, remove 
the surplus boxes, cover the series of 
holes as above stated. At the approach 
of winter again remove them; thereby all vapor arising from the breathing of 
so great a number of insects passes into the empty space above, thus in a 
great measure, preventing death by the congealing of this vapor. Other 

points of merit could be noticed, but will suggest themselves. 

% 

Advice to Young Bee Keepers. —Beginners in bee keeping should 
not, when going into the business, build costly bee houses, provide liigh- 



BEE HIVE.—FIG. 2. 



BEE HIVE.—FIG. 3. 




























































240 


TIIF FARM. 


priced, untested, patented hives, purchase a large number of colonies, or 
buy “ three-banded” Italian queens at a time when, as yet, they can hardly 
tell a drone from a worker. Begin moderately and hasten slowly. The 
needful experience in practical bee culture is much more easily and far more 
efficiently acquired by careful attention to a few choice stocks, than by a hur¬ 
ried supervision of a large number, even with the aid of manuals and text¬ 
books. Plain, simple, movable frame-hives, too, will be found better suited 
for the requisite manipulations than fanciful and complicated contrivances 
devised by persons really ignorant themselves of the habits and wants of 
bees. And colonies placed in an open situation, with their hives readily 
accessible from all sides, and somewhat sheltered or shaded by trees or 
vines, will be much more conveniently managed than when placed in 
ordinary sheds or opt-door bee houses. Study first to know what is required 
for success, and then extend your operations when you are sure that you can 
have the business “ well in hand.” 

How to Catcli Swarms. —For the past ten or twelve years, says a cor¬ 
respondent of the American Bee Journal , I have not cut my fruit trees to 
catch swarms. I get an ordinary sized basket, and nail a three-eighth-inch 
board on the bottom, with some suitable springs under it; then bore a hole 
in the center, and put an iron down through, with a loop on the top and a nut 
on the inside, and screw it fast; buckle a strap, six or eight inches long with 
a snap on it, in the loop. Have a pole cut from the edge of a two-inch plank, 
dressed any length, from eight to ten feet, with a ferule on each end and 
one-quarter inch iron rod sixteen inches in length; take a small ring, and 
bend an eye on the end of the rod, with the ring in it; taper the other end, 
and make it secure in the end of the pole; then curve it so as to project it six 
or eight inches, in which snap the basket catcher. 

To use it, push it among the branches of the tree which the bees are 
making for, and if they do not light upon it, when they begin to cluster, put 
the catcher up against them, and when you get part of them on your basket, 
move it a little away and toward the branch that they are on, and they will 
all settle on the basket in five minutes. 

To complete the pole, get a one-half inch rod of iron, twelve inches long, 
tapered at each end, and secure it in the lower end of the pole; and when 
the bees begin to settle on the basket, stick the spear in the ground and let 
it stand, while you are preparing the hive, etc. Then take down the pole 
and unhook the basket with bees, which may be carried any distance you 
wish. Shake off the bees on an open sheet in front of the hive, showing 
them the way, and they will go in faster than a flock of sheep into a yard 
after the gate is open. 

Mice in the Apiary. —During the winter mice are sometimes trouble¬ 
some guests in the apiary, especially if the hives are surrounded by straw in 
which they can harbor. The best preventive is to have hives so tight that 
they can gain no admittance. For the sake of ventilation it is not well, how¬ 
ever, to have the entrance closed air-tight; therefore, fasten a piece of wire 
gauze over the entrance of the hives that may be in the cellar, or that may 
be buried in the ground; this will exclude mice and admit air; and over tlio 
entrance of hives that are covered with boxes, fasten a piece of tin about a 
quarter of an inch above the bottom board, so that the bees can just pass 
under the edge of it, while the mice are excluded. 




\ 


FARM IMPLEMENTS 



Combined Roller and Vibrating Harrow. —The thorough pulveriza¬ 
tion of the soil is, and will be, an important item in the tillage of the earth. 
The most effective method, 
therefore, of attaining this re¬ 
sult, is one of interest to every 
individual. Our engraving on 
this page is intended to rep¬ 
resent an arrangement of a 
combined roller and vibrating 
harrow, the successful work¬ 
ing of which we have had the 
opportunity of witnessing. 

The invention consists of the 
frame. A, roller, B, which 
may be constructed of either 
iron or wood, the axle of 
which terminates at each end 
in a strong crank, C, C, of from 
six to nine inches in diameter. 

These cranks are keyed upon 
the axle in opposite positions. 

Connected to the wrist pins of 
each crank are the connecting 
rods, D, D, which extend back¬ 
wards, and are attached to 
opposite corners of the har¬ 
row, E. The attachment of 
the connecting rods to the 
cranks is made with universal 
joints, so as to allow of a free 
and easy working of all the 
parts, and to permit the roller 
and harrow separately to ac¬ 
commodate themselves to the 
inequalities of the ground. 

The manner in which the har¬ 
row is vibrated through the 
medium of the crank in rota¬ 
ting with the roller, it is not necessary further to explain. If the machine 
is used as shown in the drawing, the last operation performed will be that 
of harrowing, but if »t is desired to leave the ground in a rolled condition, 
all that is necessary to do is to turn over the tongue, F, of the roller, until 
it rests upon the cross pieces, G-, and attach the team by a chain, to what 
-,yjll thep be tpe fropt corner of the harrow. Or should it be desired to use 


COMBINED ROLLER AND VIBRATING HARROW. 














































THE FAB M. 


242 

the roller or harrow separately, they may be readily disconnected by driving 
out two of the bolts in the universal joints. This invention is public prop¬ 
erty for the benefit of the world at large. 

Hay Elevating Apparatus. —We present herewith a sketch and de¬ 
scription of a new hay elevator, in the form of a suspended track and hay¬ 
fork traveler, which we think will not only prove a timely suggestion, but a 
positive boon to many farmers. This track can be suspended in any barn, 
high or low, without any additional timbers. The hay can be run up, and over 
beams, without any scattering or dragging. Another great advantage in this 
plan is having the rope double from the fork to the traveler. This gives the 



HAY ELEVATING APPARATUS. 


horse great power on the fork just where it is needed, that is, w’hen the 
forkful of hay is separating from the load. 

It consists in part of a track made of hard wood, in the form shown. The 
center piece A is six inches wide and one and a half inches thick, put to¬ 
gether with dowel-pins, until as long as wanted. The slats B B are two 
inches wide and one inch thick. They are nailed on the lower edge of A, 
breaking joints as they are put on. They are put ou each side of A as shown 
in sketch. There is a pulley C, six inches in diameter by one and a half 
inches thick, put in the back end of the track. The box for this pulley is 
made by bolting a short piece, six inches wide and one inch thick, on each 
side of A. A, clevis; D goes over the track and is fastened on with the bolt 
that goes through the pulley. C, a rope is put through the clevis and this 
end of the track is drawn up close to the rafters. The front end is suspended 
by a clevis and two ropes; it is hung a foot or so lower than the back end. 
Screw into A the hooks that come with the fork, about eight feet apart, and 
into each put a strong link six inches long by one and a half inches in the 



















FA R M IMP LEM EN TS. 


243 


opening, as shown at E, E, E; these are for the rope to pass through, and 
also to suspend it by. 

The traveler consists of a pulley and pulley box, H, with sides four inches 
apart, extending up some seven or eight inches, which carry two rollers, N 
N, four inches in diameter and one inch thick, which roll on each side of A, 
and directly on B B. There is an eye, O, on the traveler, in which one end 
of the haul rope is tied; it then passes around a pulley on the fork, then 
through the pulley in box H, around pulley C, through the links E E E, 
around pulley P, and around a pulley at the floor, then to horse. 

There is a latch, as shown at the right of the drawing, to hold the traveler 
over the load until the fork is elevated; when the pulley on the fork strikes 
the bottom of the latch and raises the catches up, then the fork moves back; 
when the fork returns, the catches slide over the pin. 

There is a small rope (1) fast¬ 
ened to the traveler by a clevis, 2; 
said rope passes over a pulley, 3* 
down to weight, 4, around the pul¬ 
ley fastened to the weight, up to 
the eye, 5, where it is tied. 

By this arrangement a long 
track can be used in a low barn. 

The weight will bring the fork back 
without pulling on the trip cord. 

In using this plan, the horse, 
after he has drawn up a forkful, is 
turned to the left; around to the 
side of the rope, and walked back 
to the starting place; he is then 
turned around to the right, on the 
same side of the rope that he came 
back on; by so doing, there is no 
stepping over the rope, which gen¬ 
erally twists or untwists it, and 
renders it very liable to loop 
around a horse’s legs as the fork 
comes back. The weight must be 
only just heavy enough to bring 
the fork back slowly, then the rope 
will not pull on the horse when he 
is coming back. 

Home-Made Tools. — Fre¬ 
quently the farm and garden tools 

and contrivances that are home-made are quite as effective as expensive 
boughten ones, and farmers that are blessed with a little ingenuity are con¬ 
tinually “ fixing ” up some kind of a labor-saving machine to work with. Our 
illustrations represent two very handy and useful implements, of which a 
farmer writes as follows: “ While using to-day a tool which just suits me for 
killing weeds, it struck me that it might just suit others, even if it is home- 
made g and not patented. To make it, take an old twelve or fourteen-mch 
half round file; grind off the teeth, bend it as shown m Fig. 1,.and put i 
an ordinarv handle. Now, if you want to loosen the soil, oi pull out sods or 
large wo^ds, you have a light pick to do it. If you want to kill oidinan 





























THE FARM. 


244 


weeds turn the hoe flat on the ground and scrape away. Now, as the file or 
hoe has two sharp edges, you can use either side; as it is long it will work 
very rapidly; as it is nan*ow it will work easily, and not draw the dirt o\er 
the weeds and re-plant them, but will tumble them on top for old Soi to deal 
with. 



“ Another home-made tool now in season, and which has saved me much 
labor between rows of mangel wurtzel, carrots, etc., is made by taking a 
piece of old, thin, sharp tire, reversing the bend so as to bring the flat side 
down, bending it to fit between the rows and with the two ends brought to¬ 
gether so as to bolt to an old plow beam, as shown in Fig. 2. Make one, 

hitch old Tom before it, and go to 
work, and if it don’t work to a T, 
tell.” 

Care of Farm Implements.— 

Any implement that with good usage 
and protection will last eight years, 
will become weak and defective and 
generally useless, if exposed during 
four years to dews, rain and sun. It 
cannot be otherwise. Dew is very 
destructive to all wood, and sun 
cracks admit rain and moisture to 
the interior fibres, to w r ork injury 
there. To leave implements thus 
exposed is a direct loss of fifty per 
cent., a heavy tax. But to state it 
mildly: Au implement which, left 
unprotected would last five years, 
will undoubtedly last six years if 
always kept dry and in the shade 
when not in actual use. This will 
save one-fifth of its efficiency, or 
twenty per cent. A few boards or a 
straw r cover, and attention to having 
implements always put under, is far 
more profitable than to “work out” 
the twenty per cent, to buy new ones. 
Woodwork that must be left exposed, will be greatly benefitted by a fre¬ 
quent application of paint, or simply a coat of painting oil and by filling up 
all sun cracks, as soon as formed with such oil. The use of crude petroleum 
tends to the preservation cf w r ood, and may be applied to all unpainted wood¬ 
work of implements. 


HOME-MADE TOOL.—FIG. 2. 


Improved Tread Power. —In the tread-mill pow T er we have here illus¬ 
trated, the endless traveler consists of cast-iron chain links joined together 
and carrying lags which are connected to the links by a tenon oh each end 
fitting in a corresponding mortise in the link. Carrying rollers are fitted to 
run in boxes attached to the frame, so that the chain links run along on them 
from one to another, and in order that the rollers may be of larger than or¬ 
dinary size and placed farther apart, the chain links have abutting shoulders 
above the pivot joints, which hold the lags up level for the horse to walk on. 
JEach lag has a rib oy cleat nailed on the upper surface just, back of the front 













FARM IMPLEMENTS. 


245 



IMPROVED TREAD POWER. 


fedge. The rollers that sustain the weight of the horse may be larger, 
stronger, and easier running than where the rollers are attached to the 
chains. For a brake to regulate the 
speed of the machine, a couple of centri¬ 
fugal levers are pivoted to a couple of 
the arms of the flywheel, and having a 
brakeshoe on the short arm to act on a 
friction rim attached to the frame, the 
long arms of the levers being connected 
to the rocker bar by rods, and to the 
rocker one of the levers is connected by 
a coiled spring and adjusting screw, 
which tend to keep the brakes off the 
rim when the speed is not too high; but 
when excess of speed throws out the centrifugal levers the shoes will be 
pressed on the rim till the speed slows to the proper limit. The machine is 
provided with a simple stop device and is improved in other details. 

A Good Corn-Marker. —The worst difficulty with ordinary three or four 

tooth corn-markers results 
from the inflexibility of the 
long bar to which the teeth or 
marker are attached. In 
passing over uneven ground 
some of the teeth will not 
touch the earth, and conse¬ 
quently the planter must 
guess the position in which 
the seed should be planted. 
The marker we herewith il¬ 
lustrate is constructed to sur¬ 
mount this difficulty— two 
joints being made in the bar 
which allow each tooth to 
make its proper furrow on a very uneven surface. The joints are made by 
sawing the bar apart at the places indicated in the engraving, then connect¬ 
ing the sections by bolting on two stout iron straps, the bolts passing entirely 
through the bar of wood. Four straps of light wagon tire iron, each six 
inches long, and four six inch 
bolts will make the two joints. A 
space of one inch left between the 
sections of the bar will give suffi¬ 
cient flexibility to it for the pur¬ 
pose required. 

A Good Clod Crusher.— 

Take two pieces of board 2x6 or 
8, and round the end of each with 
an ax. Nail boards 6 feet long on 
the bottom. They should be A GOOD CLOD crusher. 

about 1 1-2 or 2 inches thick, beveled and lapped, as shown in our engraving. 
Bore 2 holes (in place where indicated) with a half-inch bit; take 8 feet same 
sized rope, and tie loop in middle; put ends through holes and tie knot in 



A GOOD CORN-MARKER. 
























246 


THE FARM. 


each to keep it there. Hitch your team to it, jump oh yourself, and drivG 
ahead. Once going over will be sufficient. Your land will be fine/ than you 
could harrow it in a week. It is better than a roller, for it levels the land, 
does not pack it, and draws easier than either harrow or roller, and can be 

made by a boy ten yeai’s 
old in half an hour’s time. 

Spile or Post Driver. 

—Every farmer has often 
seen the time, we believe, 
when he could have saved 
himself or his men a great 
deal of hard labor, if he 
could only have had the 
use of a spile or post 
driver to sink a few spiles 
here on this marshy land, 
to build a dam, or to di-ive 
down a few posts there to 
erect a small building upon 
or to di'ive down a line of 
fence posts; but, not being 
the possessor of one him¬ 
self, and not knowing where 
he could borrow one con¬ 
veniently from a neighbor, 
the work has been done 
without it, and much un¬ 
necessary labor wasted 
thereupon. We consider a 
post driver one of the most 
useful implements, for gen¬ 
eral use, to be found upon 
a farm. We present an il¬ 
lustration of a good and 
substantial post driver, 
with simple dii’ections how 
it can be made, and would 
offer the suggestion that 
the dull months of the 
winter season will afford a 
good opportunity for those 
who wish to provide them¬ 
selves with one of these 
useful implements, to do 

so, and thus have it in readiness for use when next season’s work begins. 

The machine we have illustrated is of quite simple construction, and with 
the exception of a little iron work, the pulleys and rope, may be made by 
any farmer who is handy with tools. The pair of runners (1) are 9 feet long, 
made of oak 7 inches wide and 4 inches thick. The cross pieces (2) are of 4 
by 4-inch scantling. The distance from the rear ci’oss piece to the next one 
is 10 inches, and from that to the front one is 2 1-2 feet. The rear one is left 
open in the middle, as represented, for the post. Two pieces of 2 by 4-inch 



SPILE OR POST DRIVER. 

































FARM IMPLEMENTS. 


247 


Scantling are bolted across the top of the cross pieces near the middle, as 
seen in the cut. The two upright pieces (4) are 20 feet long, of 2 by 6-inch 
scantling stiffened by a 2 by 4-inch piece spiked on the outside edgewise,. 
They would be better made of 4 by 6-inch stuff, or even 6-inch square, as 
they are required to be stiff. The braces (5) are 2 by 4 inches, the front 
ones a foot the longest. The weight, or block (6), may be round or square, 
20 inches in diameter, and 2 or 2 1-2 feet long, of solid, heavy oak, and 
grooved on the sides next to the uprights. In the top of this is a strong 
staple, to which the shears, which are fastened in the sliding block above, 
catch. The grooves in the weight are 6 inches wide, to take in the whole 
width of the uprights (four pins on each side would answer the purpose of 
the grooves). Two 2-inch auger holes are bored through the rear portion 
of each runner, in order to drive in stakes or a crowbar to keep the machine 
from being drawn forward while driving the post. The working will be 
readily understood. A chain is fastened to the front cross-piece at the 
points where the top pieces are joined, to which the whiffletrees are hooked. 
It is then drawn forward by the team (a span of horses or mules) until the 
weight is over the mark for the post. The post being placed, the whiffletrees 
are then unhooked from the chain and hooked to the rope which pulls up 
the weight. One to three blows will drive the post in to the required depth. 
It is then drawn forward to the next post. Two men and a span of mules 
will drive three-fourths of a mile of posts in a day, and one man will mark 
for the posts and face them ready for the boards in the same time. The 
posts are slightly pointed, and thus driven, set very firm. The cost of such 
an implement is about $25, and it will pay for itself in a few days. 

A Convenient Tool. —A cheap tool that will prove very handy and can 
be made very cheaply and quickly, and used for setting out plants such as 
sweet potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, etc. Take a round piece of wood one 
and a half inches in diameter and about a foot long; sharpen one end neatly; 
at the other end cut down to one inch in diameter, one inch below the end; 
this will give a small shoulder all around. 

Take another round piece of wood the same size, or if a little larger it 
will answer as well. Cut it four inches long, in the center bore a hole with 
an inch auger, and fasten this on the top of the other piece; this will serve 
as a handle, and the stick can be pushed down into the soil easily and pulled 
out, and can also be used to press the dirt firmly around the roots of the 
plants that you are setting out. Ten minutes’ work will make one, and you 
will find it very convenient for use, so as not to have to hunt around for a 
sharp stick every time you want to set out a few plants. 

Implement for Small-Crop Hoeing— A Massachusetts farmer writes: 
“ I beg to introduce a small hoe which has not been used among the agri¬ 
culturists yet. It can be made of old discarded scythe-blades, cut sloping 
at the corners, so that the face next the ground is nine inches wide and the 
back six inches wide. At the corners, a quarter or half inch can be turned 
up at an angle to make a hook like a blacksmith’s knife used to finish oft' 
horses’ feet. Then a shank of three-eighths inch wrought iron can be welded 
on to the center, and the other end into a good handle. Any person skilled 
in hoeing trying this hoe to single out carrots, parsnips, etc., will wonder 
why he did not think of it before. I get an old table knife and heat it, turn¬ 
ing about two inches of the end to a hook shape, to thin out my cabbage seed 
and onion beds, cutting the ground clean and quickly between the plants.” 


248 


THE EAllM. 


Coulter Cleaning Plow Attachment —Our engraving represents 
a simple attachment to a plow, intended to keep the coulter free from ob¬ 
structions when plowing in stubble or turning under long manure. It 
consists of a rod of iron, one end of which is attached to the wheel of the 
plow in such a manner that its turning will give the rod a backward and for- 

ward motion. The rod passes 
along under the beam and is 
bent around its base, or the 
shank of the plow in 
wooden beamed ones, just 
above the mold board, and 
forms a loop against the 
coulter. This loop, working 
backward and forward, works 
off all obstructions from the 
coulter. 





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A Farm Tool House.— 

One of tho most useful and 
money-saving buildings that 
a farmer can place on his 
premises is a spacious and 
convenient tool house. It is 
generally the case that there 
is room enough in the various 
outbuildings to house the 
farm implements if it is econ¬ 
omized; but it is a corner 
here and a few feet of barn or 
shed floor there; sometimes 
in a cellar and sometimes in 
a loft, possibly easy of access, 
but probably difficult, and in 
all such instances it is space 
originally intended and 
needed for some other pur¬ 
pose. Tho main reason why 
so many farmers neglect pro¬ 
tecting their implements from 
the weather when not in use, 
is the lack of convenient and 
roomy storage. We lay great 
stress on its being spacious 
and handy; for if it is thus, 
James will always drive the 
lumber wagon inside to take the hay rack off, and he will draw in the stone 
boat with the plow and harrow and cultivator on it, and they will escape 
the next rain or dew and the consequent coat of rust. A farmer needs a 
tool house as much as a horse-barn or a woodshed. Our illustration is sug¬ 
gestive. It is adapted to a locality abounding with stone. The walls of the 
building are made of that material, laid without mortar. The foundation 
is placed below the frost, and the earth is banked on the outside to further 
protect them and to throw off water. The top of the wall is leveled with 

































































































FA n M IMP IE MEN TS. m 

toortar, and a two-inch plank laid on, to which the rafters are spiked. The 
latter are braced on the inside by nailing on cross strips. The roof may be 
made of the cheapest material, which varies with localities. There is one 
window in the end opposite the door. The doorway should be twelve feet 
wide to admit a reaper, and if the location is not too much exposed there is 
little need of doors. The ground is the floor. The walls are but six feet 
high, and the structure should be twenty wide by thirty or forty long. Such 
a building will cost but little where stones are in the way. The farmer can 
build it, and will save many 
dollars in twenty years, and 
many steps each year other- 
wise taken after mislaid im¬ 
plements. 

A Home-Made Corn- 
Slieller. —This is simply the 
use of a bar of iron laid 
across a box. The box is 
made of a convenient height 
to sit upon, say twelve or 
fourteen inches, and is eight¬ 
een by thirty inches square. 

This size will hold over two 
bushels. The bar of iron (or, better, of steel) should be 3-4 by 1-4 of an 
inch in size, and a little longer than the box. Put a staple sufficiently large 
to admit the bar into the middle of the upper edge of one end of the box, 
and cut a notch the size of the bar in the other end. Put in the bar, put a 
piece of board across the notched end for a seat and go ahead with your 
shelling. Both hands are used in the operation, the left clasped tightly 
around the bar between the legs of the operator, while the ear is drawn up¬ 
ward by the right hand, the fingers of the left holding it firmly against the 
bar, and slightly pushing it upward. Shell two thirds of the small end first, 
then turn and shell the butt. Two bushels of our small corn can be easily 
shelled in an hour, after getting a little accustomed to the manipulation. I 

have tried many other 
ways, but none have 
proved at once so easy 
and so rapid as this. We 
present a sketch of the 
box and bar. 

A Good Weeding Im¬ 
plement. —We give a 
corn-sheller. sketch of an excellent 

weeding implement which is valued very highly by those who have used it. 
It saves at least the wages of three men. By actual experiment one man 
will do more weeding with it in the same time, and do it better, than four 
men with hoes. The implement costs about three dollars—not more, cer¬ 
tainly—and will save fifty dollars worth of labor during one season. The 
frame is eighteen inches long and twelve inches wide. It is light, made of 
two or two and a half inch material. The wheel is ten inches in diameter, 
of inch and a half or two inch plank, with a tire of sheet iron. The knife in 
the rear is a bar of steel two inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick, bent 




FARM TOOL HOUSE. 




























250 


THE FA 72 M. 


so as to lift the frame about five inches from the ground as it sits upon the 
surface. Each edge is sharp in order that it may cut both ways—the opera¬ 
tor pushing it before him by means of the handles, cutting oft the T\eeds, 
then drawing it back the same distance and lifting the knife at the same 
time in order to insure a displacement of the weeds. The knife may be 
width to suit any space between rows of vegetables. The form ol 

the knife is such as that it may 


made of a 



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be run as close to the rows 
as is desired, without endan¬ 
gering the roots of plants—- 
for it cannot cut under. 
Weeders of this character 
are sometimes made with the 
knife before the wheel. Any¬ 
body can make the wood¬ 
work of this weeder who lias 
the tools. Ordinary plow 
handles that can be pur¬ 
chased for twenty-five cents 
will answer. The knife, the 
braces to the handles, and 
the tire of the wheel, is all 
the iron about it. We have 
devoted this much space to 
its description and commen¬ 
dation because there are 
many farmers who are turn¬ 
ing their attention to root 
culture and to the culture of 
small fruits, and there are 
many others who would de¬ 
vote more acres to these 
crops were labor available. 
Those who grow carrots, 
onions, turnips, parsnips, the I 
sugar beet, or even straw¬ 
berries, will find, for money 
invested in one of these im¬ 
plements, a sure return. 
There is no patent on it that 
we know of, and any man 
with gumption can make one. 


T li o mas' IVo-Patent 
Scraper. — Our illustration 
represents a practical and 
very useful implement for use on public or private roads, and as there is no 
patent upon it, it can be easily made by any one as follows: 

Take a hard wood plank, say three by fourteen inches, seven feet long. 
Bevel the back side, rivet on an old mill saw for the edge. Put in a mortise 
wide enough to receive the tenon of the pole on an angle—a common ash 
wagon pole with a tenon say two by four inches, and five feet of medium 
size cable chain fastened on each side of the pole two and a half feet from 
















































Farm implements. 251 

the tenon. Fasten to tlie plank, on a line below the mortise, one grub hook 
two and a half feet from the mortise, on each side of said mortise, to hitch 
to the chains on the pole. Unhook the chains, and your scraper is in two 
pieces, handy to pack away under cover. Estimated cost: 

Pole, 25c.; plank, 25c.; old saw, $1.00; making woodwork, 50c.; chains 
and iron work, $1.50. Total, 

$3.50. 

Set your scraper at the 
right angle r to carry the gravel 
or earth toward the center of 
the road, and drive on at a 
good brisk walk, the driver 
to ride or place on weights 
when necessary. If the road 
is very rutty or uneven, it is 
better to change the angle 
and drive back on same side, 
as the scraper would cross its 
own angle going back, and 
still carry the earth toward 
the center of the road. 

A Clod Crusher.—We 

illustrate a very cheap, sim¬ 
ple, but efficient implement 
—first made and used, we 
believe, in E n g 1 a n d—for 
breaking lumps of earth on 
plowed fields and leaving 
the surface smooth and finely pulverized. It is a very good substitute for 
the roller to smooth the surface of the field and cover grass seed sown after 
spring rains. It is made in this wise: Lay two oak scantlings, 3x3 inches 
square and three and one half feet long, parallel on the shop floor, three feet 
apart. Then spike a strip 2x2 and five feet long across two ends of the scant¬ 
ling; then four two-inch planks eight inches wide and five feet long, spiking 

them on like clap-boarding, and 
finish with a plank fourteen inches 
wide for the front. Turn your 
crusher over, affix a stool for the 
driver and the chains to the cross¬ 
pieces for the team to draw by, and 
the implement is completed. 

Improvement of Roads.—A 
Rood Scraper. —We would like 
to call the attention of all lovers of 
good roads, and especially of those who are overseers, to the importance of 
some system in constructing and repairing public highways. 

In the first place, all roads should be made and kept rounding. The 
ditches at the side should be deep, and of such a grade that the water may 
quickly run off. A road constructed in this manner may be kept rounding 
for a number of years by the frequent use of the large A scraper, drawn by 
four horses abreast. Perhaps this important road implement in some dis- 



CLOD CRUSHER. 















c m the fa a .> 

tricts is an unheard-of contrivance. Judging from the looks of many roads, 
we think it must he so, and for the benefit of overseers in such districts, we 
give a drawing on this page of the best large scraper we have ever seen. 
The scraper here represented is constructed of oak plank 11 feet long, 14 
inches wide, and 2 V2 inches thick, set up edgeways, in shape of the letter 

A, with the top cut off. The 
rear cross-piece is near the end, 
and also near the top edge of 
the plank. The next is distant 
from the other 1 1-2 feet, and 2 
inches lower, for the purpose of 
allowing the guide-pole to pass 
over the rear one, and the end 
under the other, giving the 
other end the right length to 
take hold of. The front cross¬ 
piece is also near the end, and 
is the center of the plank. The 
rear end should be one foot 
throat; the front any desired 
width. To the inside of the 
plank, at the lower edge, are 
bolted plates of cast iron 5 
inches wide and 1 1-2 inches 
thick, the holes through the 
same being slots longest up and 
down, that the iron may be low¬ 
ered as it wears away. The cut 
of the scraper may be altered 
by moving the draw-clevis in 
the chain to one side of the center, causing one side to do the whole work, 
as is many times necessary. The great advantage of this scraper over others 
is that it continually draws the dirt toward the center, and leaves the road 
perfectly smooth and rounding. 

A Snow Plow—The snowplow here illustrated is built so as to be fixed 
upon the forward part of a 
double sled. The frame is 
made of 4x4 oak scantling, and 
is similar in form to a double 
mold-board plow. One runner 
is fixed to the forward part, at 
such a distance below the edge 
of the plow as to raise it to 
clear obstacles such as stones 
or frozen mud which may be in 
its way. Four inches would snow plow 

probably in general be a safe distance. The hinder part of the plow rests 
upon the sled as shown in the engraving, and is bolted to it. A long tongue 
is fixed into the place of the ordinary one, and is fastened to the front of the 
plow by an iron strap, which is bolted to the frame. The hinder portion of 
the plow may be covered over with boards, and a seat fixed firmly upon it. 
When it is used, it is best to load it as much as possible. The sides of the 

































FARM IMPLEMENTS. 


253 


plow are made of half-inch oak or basswood strips, steamed and bent into 
shape. The outer surface of these strips should be dressed smoothly, which 
will make the draft easier. 

Bag Holders. —Farmers who raise crops of cereals for market are well 
aware of the trouble and 
labor involved in the one 
operation of bag filling. 

It oftentimes happens that 
one person is required to 
hold open and fill the bag 
at the same time; this, how¬ 
ever, is a slow and tedious 
process, and to expedite 
this important operation, 
at the same time render it 
less laborious, the bag 
holders shown in our illus¬ 
tration were invented. A 
proper size of the one de¬ 
lineated in Fig. 1 is platform 
K, 24x14x2 inches, either 
pine or oak; standard B, 

4x3x36 inches; hopper P, 

16x16 inches at the top, 
beveled to admit of the 
hooking thereon of the bag 
D, as shown. It is obvious 
that, by having the upper 
portion of the hopper of 
larger dimensions than the top or mouth of the bag, the operation of filling 
can be performed much quicker, and with less liability to spill the grain; the 
bag holder also dispenses with one hand. 

Fig. 2 illustrates a simple arrangement for the purpose. The hopper is 

hree short straps or chains, 
:h in turn are attached at the 
point M. This bag holder 
is cheap, simple, portable, 
and durable. It can be at¬ 
tached to the granary wall, 
or any portion of the barn 
above the floor. By pro¬ 
viding the main chain M 
with a hook, it can be 
raised or lowered to ac¬ 
commodate bags of various 
lengths. 

Hand Plow. — Most 
vegetables are greatly benefitted by having the ground stirred frequently 
around them. Hoeing is a tedious operation both for time and patience. 

We give a drawing of a small shovel plow with a wheel set in the tram, 
which can be pushed like a wheelbarrow. When loosening the soil is the 
object, it is a very expeditious machine. The tram is made by screwing t<h 


of the size of that in Fig. 1. It is supported by tl 
REE, attached to as many of its several sides, whic 



HAND PLOW. 



FIG. 2. FIG 1. 

BAG HOLDERS. 











































254 


THE FARM. 


gether pieces of hard wood hoards. The wheel should have a “ broad 
tread” to prevent cutting in. A large cultivator tooth does tolerably well 
for a shovel. It works well for boy-power, by tying a drag rope to the end 
of the tram. With this a garden can be gone over in less than a fourth of the 
time required to hoe it, the same time may be given on different days with 
so much greater result, as (he plowing is nearly as good as hoeing each time. 

Keep tlie Farm Tools Sharp. —Too often these things are not thought 
of until the articles are wanted, when much valuable time is lost in putting 
in order what might as well have been done during the dull winter days. 
It has been computed that the same man can do as much in two days with a 
sharp scythe as in three days with one comparatively dull, and the same 
expenditure in force. And it is just the same in regard to all other tools or 
implements, whether operated by hand, steam, or horse power. The en¬ 
gineer continually oils the machinery, and a good saw or file is oil to hand 
implements. We know one who has a great deal of hand hoeing to do by 
hired labor, and he believes the continued use of the file on the hoes makes 
a difference of nearly one-half in the labor. His calculation is that every 
ten-cent file he buys saves him ten dollars in his laborers’ bills. Look after 
the spades, scythes, hoes, chisels, saws, etc. A good grindstone and a set 
of files are among the best of farm investments. The best of all forehanded¬ 
ness is that which prepares in advance a full set of good and well-repaired 
tools to work with. 


AROUND THE FARM 


Making and Keeping Ice._The method of making and keeping ice 
we here illustrate and describe will be of practical use only to tliose^vho 
are fortunate enough to have a spring or stream of running water upon their 
place; but the same result might be obtained by pumping in the water, 
though it would mvolve much more labor and trouble 

The icehouse should he built firmly of rough boards, as shown in our 
illustration. Put high up on the outside of the house a penstock, with 
which connect, by means of a ’ 

hollow plug, a tin pipe about 
two inches in diameter, on 
the inside, making a hole 
through the siding for the 
purpose. This tin pipe may 
pass through the center of 
the icehouse, or it may be 
fastened to the side walls, 
passing partly or entirely 
around. If passing through 
the center, conical tubes 
similar to the muzzle of an 
oil can, about an inch in 
altitude, should be soldered 
on either side of the tin pipe 
so as to discharge jets at an 
angle of about 30 degrees to 

a perpendicular. If passing around the sides, cones should be so soldered' 
on that the jets shall be thrown inward. The aperture through the apex of 
these cones should be very fine, about the size of a small pin. At the dis¬ 
charge end of this pipe, passing through or around the icehouse, should be 
fastened a rubber pipe of from four to six feet in length. By raising the 
movable end of this rubber pipe we give whatever head we desire to the 
jets; in severe cold weather the greater head, and as the weather moderates 
less. Should it be thawing or too mild to freeze, then lower the rubber 
pipe so that the water will flow through the pipe without being discharged 
from the cones. For this purpose the pipe should have a gradual descent 
toward the discharge end. Should this not effectually prevent any water 
flowing on the ice, then bore a hole in the penstock below the pipe passing 
through the icehouse, and let the water discharge from this hole during 
mild weather. The jets may be within two feet of each other. Better re¬ 
sults attend a large number of fine jets than a less number discharging the 
same amount of water. In starting, the bottom of the icehouse should be 
covered with sawdust. The ice will form very slowly at first, but after the 
bottom is covered it will congeal more rapidly. After a sufficient quantity 
of ice lias been formed, the sawdust may be put on, covering thickly around 



MAKING AND KEEPING ICE. 









































































256 THE FARM. 

the edges, so that as the ice melts the dust will tall down and protect it. Ice 
formed in this way will keep better than if sawed and packed in the usua 
way. We consider this mode of saving ice worth a practical test bj all who 
have running water and sufficient fall. 

Whitewash for Buildings and Fences. —If people knew how easily 
whitewash is made, and how valuable it is when properly applied, it w ould 
he in more general requisition. It not only prevents the decay of wood, but 
conduces greatly to the healthfulness of all buildings, whether of wood 01 
stone. Out-buildings and fences when not painted, should he supplied once 

or twice a year with a good 
coat of whitewash, which 
should he prepared in the 
following way: Take a 
clean, water-tight barrel, 
or other suitable cask, and 
put into it a half-bushel of 
lime. Slake it by pouring 
water over it boiling hot, 
and in sufficient quantity 
to cover it five inches deep, 
and stir it briskly till thor¬ 
oughly slaked. When the 
slaking has been thorough¬ 
ly effected, dissolve it in 
water and add two pounds 
of sulphate of zinc and one 
of common salt; these will 
cause the wash to harden 
and prevent its cracking, 
which gives an unseemly 
appearance to the work. 
If desirable, a beautiful 
cream color may be com¬ 
municated to the above 
wash by addiug three 
pounds of yellow ochre; or 
a good pearl of lead color 
by the addition of lamp, 
vine, or ivory black. For 
or American—the latter is 
the cheaper—one pound of Indian red, one pound of common lamp-black. 
For common stone color, add four pounds of raw umber and two pounds of 
lamp-black. 

Smoke Houses—Our first illustration, Fig. 1, represents a smoke house 
built of brick, 6x7 feet square, and suitable for a large farm. The bottom is 
excavated the size of the building, two feet deep, filled in with small stones, 
and on this a brick floor, well cemented, is laid. This insures dryness. 
The walls are of brick, eight inches thick and seven feet high, with a small 
door on one side, lined on the inside with sheet-iron or zinc. Hooks should 
be firmly attached to the joists, on which to hang the hams and shoulders. 
This style of smoke house is not very expensive, is safe from fire, and when 



SMOKE HOUSE.- -FIG. 1. 

fawn color, add four pounds of umber, Turkish 









































































ARO UNI) THE FARM. 


257 



not in use for smoking meat, is an excellent receptacle for ashes which 
ought never to be kept in 
contact with wood, on ac¬ 
count of the danger from 
spontaneous combustion. 

Our next illustration, Fig. 

2, represents one of the best 
arranged smoke houses that 
we have ever seen. It 
was large and built of brick, 
with an iron door which is 
generally kept locked. In 
the gable end there is a fire¬ 
place with a door. “A” 
shows the fireplace with 
door, for making the smoke, 
a chimney leading dp on the 
inside of the wall letting the 
smoke into the room. The 
advantage of this arrange¬ 
ment is that the fire for 
smoking is built without en¬ 
tering the building, and sim¬ 
ply by opening the door of 
the fireplace. The smoke passing up the chimney on the interior side of the 


SMOKE HOUSE_FIG. 2. 



wall is cooled, and thus the 
meat does not come in con¬ 
tact with heat from fire. In 
the ordinary smoke-house, 
as is well known, the pieces 
of meat often break loose 
from their fastenings and 
fall into the fire or ashes 
underneath, and are in¬ 
jured or destroyed. In this 
plan the ash room may be 
partitioned off and the meat 
kept in a room by itself, 
and the door being always 
kept locked, except at such 
times as the meat is de¬ 
sired for the table, there is 
no chance of loss from 
thieves or flies. One can 
keep meat in this house in 
perfect condition from one 
end of the year to the other, 
and no losses can accrue 
from any source. 

For those who want a 
cheap, easily made smoko 
house, our illustration, Fig. 3, will meet the requirement. It is made in a 
slight rise of ground, by an archway of brick, at the lower end of which tho 


SMOKE HOUSE.—FIG. 3. 
























































258 


THE FAIiM. 


fire k» made, while at the upper end is placed a barrel or box containing the 
hams and other meat to be cured. The lower end is closed after the fire is 
well started, to prevent a too rapid burning of the corn cobs or other ma¬ 
terial used in smoking the meat, and also to direct the smoke to the upper 
orifice for escape. 

Ensilage.— This word, which is only a few years old, grows out of the 
discovery made by a Frenchman, Auguste Goffart, that green crops, when 
stored in water-tight pits called silos, under a heavy pressure, do not rot, 
but are preserved fresh and sweet, and retain all their nutritive juices for a 
year or more; and that, when offered to cattle in this condition, in the win¬ 
ter, are preferred to any dry food. It is not surprising that the discovery 
made a sensation among farmers and cattle feeders in this country, and that 
there is exhibited a keen desire to know all about it; for, not only can a great 
deal more in weight, of green food than dry, be raised on an acre, but ensi¬ 
lage possesses the advantage of supplying cattle with succulent summer 
feed in the winter—an advantage of great value to milch cattle. Any green 
crop that stock are fond of when in a growing state is go’od material for ensi¬ 
lage—grass, clover, rye, young corn, sorghum and vegetables; but corn, 
clover and the grasses are most generally used, because when growing they 
are full of juice, which is lost in curing into hay or fodder, but preserved in 
the silo. Several kinds of green crops may be packed in the same silo, and 
the ensilage is said to be improved by the variety. Corn, either drilled or 
cultivated or sown broadcast, and cut in its most juicy condition, is the basis 
of most ensilage experiments in this country; it may be packed in the same 
silo with clover or grass of any kind cut green, and successive crops of corn 
may be planted for mixture with different kinds of grasses in their season. 
As it is estimated that ten to twenty tons weight of green crops may be cut 
from an acre of good soil—five to ten times as- much as the weight of a dry 
crop of grain or hay—it is easy to see how much more profitable it is to save 
green crops in the form of ensilage than to allow them to mature and dry. 
Col. J. W. Wolcott, of Boston, who owns a farm near that c%, raised 460 
tons of ensilage on thirty-four acres—being fourteen tons to the acre—one 
year. By raising two crops on the same soil he has gathered as much as 
twenty-one tons per acre. On one piece of ground he gathered thirty-one 
tons per acre, but “ that corn was fourteen feet high,” he says. He adds: 
“ I am satisfied that an acre of ground will keep a cow twenty-four months.” 

When the silo is opened in winter the contents are found in a sort of 
cheesy condition, and require to be sliced off with a sharp axe. They have 
undergone a slow and slight fermentation which does not impair their merits 
as feed and is not offensive to cattle. Indeed, the first smell of ensilage is 
said to “ set cattle wild for it,” and they prefer it to any other kind of feed. 

Silos are variously constructed. The usual plan is to dig pits ten feet 
wide, fifteen feet deep, and as long as may be desired, on sloping ground, 
and make them water-tight with cement. Mr. C. W. Mills, of Pompton, New 
Jersey, prefers to build a strong frame, boarded up tight and close with 
thick lumber, entirely above the ground, something in the fashion of an ice 
house. The green crops may be packed into them, either whole or cut up 
with a cutter; each plan has its advocates, though the weight of opinion is 
in favor of cutting, as it allows of closer packing. As the crops are thrown 
in they are tread down as closely near the edges as possible, and when the 
silo is full it is covered and weighted with heavy rocks or earth, and then 
shedded over to protect it from the weather. In a few weeks the ensilage is 


ATtOUND THE FA EM. 


259 


“ ripe ” and ready for use. One end of the silo, if built along the ground, may 
be opened and the ensilage cut out and fed as it is wanted. Its quality will 
depend on the crops of which it is made and the care with which they are 
packed away. Nearly all animals will eat it; cattle like it and thrive on it, 
and for milch cows it is particularly valuable, as it increases their flow of 
milk and keeps them in cheerful, healthy condition. 

What Goes with a Farm— When a farm is bought or sold, questions 
often arise as to what goes with it, and disputes may often he avoided if 
farmers know just what their farm deeds include. In brief, says Mr. Haigh, 
of the Detroit bar, in the American Agriculturist, where no reservations are 
made in the deed, the conveyance includes the land, the buildings upon it, 
and all such chattels or articles as have become so attached or fixed to the 
soil or to the buildings, as to become what is known in law as “ fixtures.” 
What constitutes a fixture depends largely on the intention of the owner in 
putting it there, and also upon the manner in which it is affixed. Anything 
so affixed to the roll or the buildings that it cannot be removed without in¬ 
jury nearly always goes with the farm, and anything of a permanent nature, 
fitted for permanent use, and annexed thereto by the owner with that inten¬ 
tion, generally goes with the land, though it might be severed without any 
injury, as the following examples will illustrate: All fences on the farm go 
without, but not fencing materials, as rails, etc.; if bought elsewhere and 
piled upon the farm, and not yet built into a fence, they have never yet been 
“ annexed.” But rails built from timber standing on the farm and piled up 
for future use go with it; their original annexation is not severed by being 
changed from standing trees to rails. If, however, they were cut with the 
intention of using them elsewhere than on the farm, they would then be per¬ 
sonal property and would not pass. The bare intention in the mind of the 
owner in this instance makes the difference between real estate and personal 
property. Hop poles, if they have once been used upon the farm, are re¬ 
garded as a part of it, though at the time of sale they are stored away for 
future use. Loose scaffold poles, however, laid across the beams of a barn, 
have been held not to be a part of the realty. Standing trees, of course, are 
a part of the farm; so are trees cut or blown down, if left where they fall, 
but not if corded up for sale; the wood has then become personal property. 

To Tan Hides. —We think that many farmers would tan sheep and other 
skins, with the hair and wool on, if they were told how. They are very con¬ 
venient for sleighs, wagons, house rugs, and many other purposes. We give 
the following from a reliable source, remarking that it is essentially the same 
that we found in use by the trappers and hunters in the wilderness: All 
fatty and fleshy matter should first be removed from the skin, and with 
sheep skins the wool should be washed clean with soft soap and water, and 
the suds be thoroughly rinsed out. For each skin take four ounces of salt, 
four ounces of alum, and half an ounce of borax; dissolve these in one quart 
of hot water, and when cool enough for the hand to bear, stir in sufficient 
rye meal to make a thick paste. This paste is to be spread thoroughly over 
every part of the flesh side of the skin, which is then to be folded together 
lengthwise, and left for two weeks in an airy place. Then remove the paste, 
wash and dry the skin When nearly dry, it must be worked and pulled, 
and scraped with a blunt knife made for the purpose, shaped like a chopping 
knife, or with a piece of hard wood worked to a sharp edge. The more the 
skin is worked and scraped as it dries, the more pliable it will be. Other 
furs can be tanned with the fur on. 








THE FARM. 


260 

Weasel, Rat, and Vermin Traps —The common steel rat-trap is fre¬ 
quently used with good success in destroying these vermin, but we give 
herewith an engraving of a trap in this connection (Fig. 1), which we think 
will be found more effectual, and it is so simple in ita construction that any 
one can make it. The trap consists of an oblong box, the end of which drav s 
out, and is provided with a looking-glass in the internal side, which attracts 
the vermin on looking in. The entrance of the trap is formed of two spring 
doors made of wire, which allow the vermin to enter with least pressure. 

These doors have sharp 
points where they meet, 
which, although not felt by 
the vermin when entering, 
will prevent it from with¬ 
drawing after having once 
introduced its head. Near 
to the looking glass a bait is 
suspended, and a cage is also 
fixed with a chicken to serve 
as a decoy. These traps are 
self-setting, simple, inexpensive, fit for all sizes of vermin, and safe for the 
house, farm-yard, or game preserve. 

We also give an illustration of another trap (Fig. 2), which can be easily 
made by any person conversant with the use of a saw, hammer and nails. 
The top and bottom of the trap are made of oak board one inch thick and 
twenty inches square. It is divided into two parts, making really two distinct 
traps. The corners are of wire about one-quarter of an inch in diameter, 
and the sides and partitions of No. 7 wire. Holes are bored both top and 
bottom, and the wires inserted. The corner wires are riveted, holding the 
trap firmly together; the doors are of oak, three quarters of an inch thick, 
and are kept in place by a cross wire on the top board of the trap, and by 
two small staples near the bottom 
edge of the door, which slide on the 
upright wires on each side. The 
treadle X is also oak, working on 
the upright pin 0, as a fulcrum, 
and being held in place by the wire 
hook Y working on a pivot at P, and 
on the lower end of which the bait 
is placed. One side of the trap is 
represented as set, the other as 
sprung. 

Trapping tlie Mink, Skunk, TRAP FIG. 2. 

Etc._Next to the weasel, the mink is most dreaded among poultry. In 
localities near salt marshes, swamps, ponds, and sluggish streams they most 
abound. The ravages of the mink are easily told from those of the weasel 
or any other animal. He almost always carries off a portion of his prey and 
tries to secrete it. If you find a half-grown chicken or old fowl dead and 
dragged wholly or partly into a stone wall or under some building, you may 
be certain it is the work of a mink; and if you go to work right, you will be 
just as certain to trap him. 

One peculiarity of the animal makes his capture easy—he always returns 
to a spot where he has hidden his quarry, or where ho has made a raid; and 





































































































261 


AROUND THE FARM. 

if he misses it, will go searching around for it. A knowledge of this fact led 
to the invention some years since of the trap we now illustrate. It is un¬ 
patented and our readers our free to make and use it. 

The trap should be three feet long, one foot wide, and one foot high, out¬ 
side measurement, and may be made of ordinary faced pine boards. 

N is the only solid part of the top , to which is hinged the lids L and D, 
and also in which the standard S is mortised. The lid L is held up by the 
rod A, in which are one or more notches to elevate it the desired height, 
catching or hooking over the pin B, and projecting a few inches beyond. 
Under A, and hinged into the standard by the pin P, is the lever T, also pro¬ 
jecting an inch or more beyond. C is a treadle board, hinged at Y to the 
bottom of the trap, and connecting by the wire W to the lever T, elevating it 
about two inches when set. H is the bait box, separated from the main trap 
by a wire screen, XX. O is a window, of which there should be one on each 
side about three or four inches square, also covered with wire or wire cloth, 
and D is the lid of the bait box, fastened down by the pin E. 

If you have a chicken or fowl that has been killed by the mink a night or 
two preceding put that into the bait box and close the lid, placing the trap as 
near the spot where the dead fowl was found as you can. If a live fowl is 
put in, no harm can be done to it, the screen effectually protecting it. The 
mink enters the trap, and 
as soon as his weight gets 
well up on the treadle 
it pulls down the lever T, 
the projecting end of 
which dislodges the rod A, 
and drops the lid L. It is 
best to have a weight upon 
L, or else a catch to hold it 
down when sprung, as we 
have known an old mink to 
pry up the lid and get out. 

We have never known this trap to miss when set immediately succeeding 
the depredations of one of those varmints. 

Next to the mink, the skunk is the most destructive to poultry. The 
best way to trap him is with eggs, of which they are passionately fond. 
They are not particular about the quality, as they seem to favor a rotten one, 
or one with a dead chicken in it. Tie the egg in a piece of netting, and fasten 
it to the treadle of a steel trap, or to a common box trap. Find their burrow, 
and set your trap near the mouth. It is nearly useless to set a trap where a 
theft has been committed. The animal may not go back there for months. 
He might possibly be caught in a night or two. But the chances are against it. 

Crows and hawks are to be classed among the enemies of poultry. The 
former prey only on young chickens and eggs. Catch one and hang it in 
your poultry yard; no other crow will come near it. The quickest and suiest 
trap for crows is to place a steel trap in the shallow water ot a pond, so that 
the jaws when open, are just under water. On the treadle place a small tuft 
of grass or moss, making a miniature island. Then cut a small stick with 
three branches, forking in such a manner as to support an egg on them, 
stick this about six or eight inches from the trap; lay a little moss, grass, 01 
leaves over it, and place the egg on the forks, so it will appear as if floating 
on the water; cover the remainder of the trap lightly with grass, so as to 
hide it from eight, for Mr. Crow is very observant. To obtain the egg the 































262 


THE FARM. 


crow will light on the “ island,” and find too late he is caught. When hawks 
are troublesome the only remedy is to shoot them. You will soon notice 
that he visits your yard about a certain time every day, and by watching for 
him you can soon rid yourself of the troublesome visitor—of course provided 
you are a good shot. 

Trapping Ground Moles.—We give an illustration upon this page of a 
very good and simple trap that may be successfully used in catching that 
troublesome little pest, the ground mole. It is made of two ash boards, a 
full inch in thickness, seven inches in width, and two feet six inches long, 
attached to one end by a broad butt hinge. The form given to the bottom 
board is shown in the cut, the central slit being made to admit the free play 
of the trigger, which is represented by itself in the right-hand corner of the 
sketch. It is of iron, ten inches long; the lower part shaped like a paddle, 
five inches long, one and one-eighth inches wide, and the left-hand end, 
notched as shown, and three-quarters of an inch wide perpendicularly. The 
post, sixteen inches high, is curved to the circular sweep of the top board on 
its hinge. The teeth, six in number, on each side, are riveted seven-eighths 

of an inch apart, in a 
plate five and one- 
fourth inches long and 
one inch wide, contain¬ 
ing four Bcrew holes, 
placed zigzag, and this 
is found much firmer 
and more secure than 
if the teeth were in¬ 
serted directly in the 
upper plank. The trap 
is set, as shown in the 
cut, across a mole 
track, first digging a 
hole eight inches square 
and six inches deep, 
and returning the soil, taking care to exclude all stones and large pebbles. 
Press the earth down pretty firmly, and set the trap so that the trigger 
touches the surface of the ground exactly over the line of the track. When 
the mole goes along his accustomed road, and finds it obstructed, his move¬ 
ments in reopening the track inevitably heaves up the surface, so as to set 
off the trigger, and the teeth on one sido or the other will catch him. Weight 
the trap with a heavy flat stone. 

Ridding tlie Land of Stamps—We have frequently noticed persons 
when clearing land make a brush pile over a green stump, with the expecta¬ 
tion, apparently, that they were pursuing the right course to effectually rid 
the land of its presence immediately, while in fact no better means couid be 
resorted to in order to insure its indefinite preservation. It has been the 
experience of the writer that a stump should never be fired until it has be¬ 
come sufficiently “seasoned” to insure its entire consumption, else the 
charred remnant becomes impervious to the action of the elements, and it 
will remain a troublesome customer to deal with for long years after/ 

These thoughts are suggested from a quite recent experience in dealing 
with some very “ old settlers,” which the hands on the farm wished to fire 











AROUND THE FARM. 263 

several years back, and were only prevented from doing so by a positive 
command to the contrary. By a little patient waiting we are gratified with 
seeing “ the places which once knew them, know them no more forever.” 
This is one plan of treatment. 


Martin Boxes—The box-house does very well if made of any small box 
about fifteen inches square (which can be had of any grocer), with a division 
put in it so that two families can inhabit it. A square hole should be sawed 
out at the bottom edge opposite each 
division, and the bottom nailed on. 

Place the box on a pole from twelve to 
fifteen feet high, or on the gable end of 
a roof, or even in a tree, and your 
house is finished. It can be painted 
or not, or even made in fancy designs, 
which are quite attractive to the eye. 

The illustration given on this page will 
convey the idea. A hop, or other 
rapid-growing climber, if planted at 
the bottom of the pole, will climb up 
it and cause it too look quite orna¬ 
mental and picturesque. We have 
seen them built two stories high, made 
like a diminutive gothic cottage, which 
is quite pretty. The house should be 
made before the martins come, as 
they are generally in a hurry to locate 
and go to “ housekeeping.” By all 
means give them some kind of a home. 

Cisterns.—Many who have cisterns 
and depend upon them for their sup¬ 
ply of water for family use, hardly 
realize the importance of keeping them 
sweet and clean. Rain water as it 
comes down from the clouds is prob¬ 
ably as pure as any water can be, but 
after it has washed over a roof and 
down the conductors into the cistern, 
carrying with it dust, leaves, and other 
rubbish that may have gathered on the 
roof or in the gu tters, it is not strange 
that the cistern should need to be 
cleaned out every year or two. If the cistern is not much used the water is 
quite likely to become bad. It may look all right, and not taste very bad 
either, and yet not be healthful. Of course all cistern water should be 
filtered, and a soft brick filter is perhaps the best; but even then it will be¬ 
come necessary to clean the cistern as often as every two years, and better 
every year. 



MARTIN BOX. 


To Purify Cistern*. —Throw in two ounces powdered alum and two 
ounces borax to a twenty barrel cistern of rain water that is blackened or 
oily, and in a few hours the sediment will settle, and the water will be clari¬ 
fied and fit for washing 















































































264 


THE FA JIM. 


Silos and Ensilage. —The new system of preserving and feeding ensi 
lage, says an intelligent writer, is one of such simplicity that doubting minds 
are incredulous as to possible results. If the building of a silo and the sub¬ 
sequent process of filling with ensilage were some wonderful secret, or per¬ 
haps a new discovery protected by a series of patents—if the use of the sys¬ 
tem were permitted only under the payment of heavy royalties—there is a 
class of skeptical minds who fatten on uncertain qualities, and who have but 
little faith in any practice which is within the reach of persons of ordinary 
intelligence and common sense. It is difficult for many minds to realize the 
facts claimed for ensilage or to explain to themselves why such results 
should be secured by processes so simple and by apportions so economical. 
Yet proof, absolute demonstration, is within the reach of every inquiring 
mind, or of every enterprising farmer who is willing to spend fifty dollars 
for commencing experiments upon his own farm. 

It is a most singular fact that the doubting minds are those who have 
had no practical experience on the subject, but whose conservatism is on 
the parade. It is equally surprising that no intelligent, practical attempt at 
silo building or ensilage feeding has resulted in failure, although men of all 
classes and attainments have experimented with the new system. It would 
be reasonable to expect many failures among so many beginners of varying 
capacities, were there anything intricate or uncertain in the process and its 
auxiliaries. No authority in this country is competent to pronounce posi¬ 
tively upon the future success or failure of this new system; it is for the in¬ 
terest of no one to urge or induce the adoption of the system by any unwill¬ 
ing farmer, and no one is to be enriched by the multiplication of silos, 
except, perhaps, the individual owners. Many a conservative farmer will 
await the report of his more entei’prisiug neighbor, who has built a silo, yet 
it is certain that before many years every one will have an opportunity to 
judge the merits and draAvbacks of the system of ensilage. 

New Way with. a Silo. —A Massachusetts farmer records his experi¬ 
ence as follows: We had always raised more or less Indian corn, using the 
stalks for wintering our limited number of cattle. After increasing our herd 
we planted fodder corn to help out our stock of corn stalks. However, the 
hard labor attending the cutting, binding, shocking, and curing the fodder 
made us willing investigators of the new and highly recommended system 
of ensilage feeding. From all who had constructed silos and tested ensilage 
we heard uniformly favorable reports. We could not learn of a failure, 
hence we determined to test ensilage for ourselves, only hesitating on ac¬ 
count of the probable labor and expense attending the erection and weight¬ 
ing of a stone silo. 

Learning that wooden silos found favor with some farmers who pro¬ 
nounced them equally as good, so long as they lasted, as the more costly 
stone affairs, Ave determined upon constructing our silo of wood. Our barn 
is a tAvo-story building, measuring 40x80 feet. It contains several large 
bays, the dimensions of w r hich are 20x24 feet. We sealed up one of these 
bays with 1 1-4 inch matched spruce boards covered with tarred paper. We 
cemented the bottom of the silo, also the Avails under the sills of the bam. 
We coated the inside of the silo with coal oil to prevent the effects of mois¬ 
ture upon the boards. 

We stored about 125 tons of corn fodder in the silo, treading it dow n by 
men, instead of horses, by reason of the small size of the silo. We were 
about three weeks storing the AYhole of our fodder on account of the lack of 


ABO UNB THE FA R M. 


265 


help. For covering the silo we used hemlock boards and tarred paper, no 
other weighting being applied until some three or 
four weeks later, when we stored a quantity of dry 
corn stalks upon the top of the silo. Upon opening 
the silo we found the fodder in a perfect state of pre¬ 
servation, the ensilage showing no mold, except a 
little on top, just under the cover. In preparing the 
fodder, we employed a two-horse power to run our 
cutter, the latter being provided with a carrier for 
delivering the fodder in the silo. 

Rustic Seats for tlie Lawn. —The garden and 
lawn are incompletely furnished if they are not sup¬ 
plied with some kind of seats whereon one may 
recline at ease. Fortunately these seats need 
not be costly; it would, indeed, show bad taste to 

have them so. 

Something easy, 

graceful, fan- rustic seat.—fig. 1. 
tastic, rustic— 

something that the sunshine or the 
wind will not harm, or have its beauty 
destroyed by the rain. The materials 
for such seats are nearly always at 
hand—at least on every farmer’s prem¬ 
ises. All that is required is a little 
skill and patience to construct them. 
The branches of the trees may be bent 
and shaped into tasteful chairs, and 
any desired form given to them. The 
branches of the red cedar tree and wild 
grape vine furnish the best of material 
for this style of rustic seat. Our illus¬ 
tration, Fig. 1, shows a very pretty chair 
made in this manner. A few pine boards cut out and nailed together, as 
represented in the engraving, Fig. 2, 
will form a cheap and convenient 
rustic seat, which will be admired 
for its very simplicity and quaintness. 

A favorite shade tree on the lawn 
may be surrounded with seats so at¬ 
tached that one in sitting may lean 
against the trunk. Our illustration, 

Fig. 3, will give a good idea of how 
seats of this kind may be constructed. 

Of materials there are plenty 
around almost every homestead— 
tasteful labor only is wanting to 
make appropriate rustic seats. The 
position of such seats is worthy of 
consideration. As they are mainly 
.intended for use in warm weather, 
they should be amply shaded. A 








EUSTIC SEAT.—FIG. 2. 























266 


THE FARM. 


position should be chosen that commands a good protpect—if not a distant 
landscape, then of the beauties of the lawn and the flower garden. Some, 
at least, should be screened from observation by shrubbery—fragrant if pos- 
sible—where one may read or -work. It is during the warmer months that 
the garden and lawn offer their greatest attractions, and everything that 
tends to make them more enjoyable should be provided. 

How to Preserve Cider. —A pure, sweet cider is only obtainable from 
clean, sound fruit, < and the fruit should, therefore, be carefully examined 
and wiped before grinding. 

In the press use hair cloth or gunny in place of straw. As the cider runs 
from the press let it pass through a hair sieve into a large open vessel, that 
will hold as much juice as can be expressed in ono day. In one day, or 
sometimes less, the pomace will rise to the top, and in a short time grow 
very thick. When little white bubbles break through it draw off the liquid 
through a very small spigot placed about three inches from the bottom, so 
that the lees may be left behind. The cider must be drawn off into very 
clean, sweet casks, preferably fresh liquor casks, and closely -watched. The 
moment the white bubbles before mentioned are perceived rising at the 
bunghole, rack it again. It is usually necessary to repeat this three times. 
Then fill up the cask with cider in every respect like that originally contained 
in it, add a tumbler of warm sweet oil and bung up tight. For very fino 
cider it is customary to add at this stage of this process about half a pound 
of glucose (starch sugar), or a smaller portion of white sugar. The cask 
should then be allowed to remain in a cool place until the cider has acquired 
the desired flavor. 

In the meantime, clean barrels for its reception should be prepared, as 
follows: Some clean strips of rags are dipped in melted sulphur, lighted and 
burned in the bunghole and the bung laid loosely on the end of the rag so 
as to retain the sulphur vapor within the barrel. Then tie up half a pound 
of mustard seed in a coarse muslin bag and put it in the barrel, fill the bar¬ 
rel with cider, and add about a quarter of a pound of isinglass or fine gela¬ 
tine dissolved in hot water. This is the old fashioned way, and will keep 
cider in the same condition as when it went into the barrel, if kept in a cool < 
place, for a year. 

Professional cider makers are now using calcium sulphite (sulphite of 
lime) instead of mustard and sulphur vapor. It is much more convenient 
and effectual. To use it, it is simply requisite to add one-eighth to one- 
quarter of an ounce of the sulphite to each gallon of cider in the cask, first 
mixing the powder in about a quart of the cider, and giving the latter a 
thorough shaking or rolling. After standing bunged several days to allow 
the sulphite to exert its full action it may be bottled off. The sulphite of 
lime (which should not be mistaken for the sulphate of lime) is a commer- < 
cial article, costing about forty cents a pound by the barrel. It will preserve 
the sweetness of the cider perfectly; but unless care is taken not to add too 
much of it, it will impart a slight sulphurous taste to the cider. The 
bottles and corks used should be perfectly clean, and the corks wired 
down. 

A little cinnamon, wintergreen or sassafras, etc., is often added to sweet 
cider in the bottle, together with a dram or so of bi-carbonate of soda at the 
moment of driving the stopper. This helps to neutralize free acids, and v 
renders the liquid effervescent when unstopped; but if used to excess, it S 
may prejudicially affect 1 he taste. 


AROUND THE FARM. 


267 


What Birds Accomplish —The swallow, swift, and hawk are tho 
guardians of the atmosphere. They check the increase of insects that other¬ 
wise would overload it. Woodpeckers, creepers, and chickadees are tho 
guardians of the trunks of trees. Warblers and flycatchers protect the foli¬ 
age. Blackbirds, crows, thrushes, and larks protect the surface of the soil. 
Snipe and woodcock protect the soil under the surface. Each tribe has its 
respective duties to perform in the economy of nature, and it is an undoubted 
fact that if the birds were all swept off the face of the earth man could not 
live upon it, vegetation would wither and die; insects would become so 
numerous that no living being could withstand their attacks. The whole¬ 
sale destruction occasioned by grasshoppers which have devastated the 
West is to a great extent, perhaps, caused by tho thinning out of the birds, 
such as grouse, prairie hens, etc., which feed upon them. The great and in¬ 
estimable service done to the farmer, gardener, and florist by the birds Is 
only becoming known by sad experience. Spare the birds and save the fruit; 
the little corn and fruit taken by them is more than compensated by the 
quantities of noxious insects they destroy. The long-persecuted crow lias 
been found by actual experience to do more good by the vast quantities of 
grubs and insects he devours than the harm he does in the grains of corn he 
pulls up. He is, after all, rather a friend than an enemy to the farmer. 

Recipe for Curing Meat. —To one gallon of water take one and one- 
half pounds of salt, one-half pound sugar, one-half ounce saltpetre, one- 
half ounce potash. In this ratio the pickle can be increased to any quantity 
desired. Let these be boiled together until all the dirt from the sugar rises 
to the top and is skimmed off. Then throw it into a tub to cool, and when 
cold pour it over your beef or pork. The meat must be well covered with 
pickle, and should not be put down for at least two days after killing, dur¬ 
ing which time it should be slightly sprinkled with powdered saltpetre, 
which removes all the surface blood, etc., leaving the meat fresh and clean. 
Soma omit boiling the pickle, and find it to answer well, though the opera¬ 
tion of boiling purified the pickle by throwing off the dirt always to be found 
in salt and sugar. If this recipe is strictly followed, it will require only a 
single trial to prove its superiority over the common way, or most ways of 
putting down meat, and will not soon be abandoned for any other. Tho 
meat is unsurpassed for sweetness, delicacy, and freshness of color. 

Value of Drainage. —As a matter of fact there is very little land in our 
country that would not be improved by drainage. Many light soils are 
springy, and the crops are injured in them by stagnant water. Heavy land 
can never do its best until drained. Vast areas of low-lying but rich land 
are practically valueless for want of drains to carry off the redundant mois¬ 
ture which forbids the growth of any but aquatic plants. Many who admit 
the importance of this improvement are puzzled about the ways and means 
of effecting it. The Drainage Journal mentions the following plan, Avhicli is 
well worthy of serious consideration: “ Some enterprising tile manufacturers 
select careful farmers who own flat lands, and make tliom something like 
tho following proposition: That the farmer make a careful cstimato of his 
average crops, and the tile manufacturer proposes to furnish the tile neces¬ 
sary to drain thoroughly the lands designated in the agreement, the farmer 
to furnish the labor of putting in the drains at a stipulated pi ice, to lie paid 
out of the excess of crops grown on the land over and above tho average 
yield before agreed upon, and the tilo manufacturer agreeing to tako the 





268 


THE FARM. 


balance of the increase in four or five crops (as agreed) to cover the cost of 
the tile. On level lands, where the average crop runs low and the land by 
nature is rich, it is a safe proposition for the tile manufacturer, if the farmer 
honestly performs his part of the contract. On rich level lands that need 
drainage, and need it badly, it will pay twenty-five per cent, annually on the 
investment, and in some instances more.” 

Rustic Garden House—No accessories to the garden add more to its 
beauty and comfort than pleasant, comfortable seats and resting places. 
They may be composed of a few sticks, forming a simple seat under the 
shade of some tree, or may be made in the form of rustic houses. Simpli¬ 
city, however, must not be lost sight of, and no foolish attempt should be 
made to eclipse the simple beauty of nature by any expensive display of art. 
In our travels on the Hudson we once stopped at the beautiful garden of 
A. J. Downing, and after admiring the fine specimen trees it contained, and 
surveying the finely-kept lawn, we found ourselves reclining in a pretty rus¬ 
tic house, a view of which 
is given in the engraving 
on this page, and we now 
present it as a model for 
this kind of work. A lit¬ 
tle patience and taste 
and a very few tools will 
enable one with ordinary 
mechanical skill to erect 
such a house at leisure 
times, almost without 
cost. 

Hoav to Make Sorgo 
Vinegar. — A corre¬ 
spondent writing from 
Loutre Island, Mo., in the 
Rural World, tells how 
rustic garden house. he m ade 1,000 gallons of 

No. 1 vinegar mostly from 
sorgo skimmings. He says: “ Of course the first skimmings are not used. 
I had two 160-gallon tubs. Into these I put about 70 gallons of apple pomace 
(cider and all), 25 to 30 gallons of skimmings, according to thickness, then 
filled up with rain water. I let it remain for two or three days, then drew it 
off and put in a large 1,000-gallon cask, which I finished filling by the latter 
part of October. Next spring I drew it off in 40-gallon barrels, put them in 
a warm place where the sun shone on them part of the day, and I soon had 
the very best of vinegar. The above casks were in an •ut-house where it 
was as cold as out of doors. Of course it had no time to sour that fall, as 
winter set in early in November; consequently freezing did not hurt it, 
though it should not freeze after once becoming sour. Pressed or dry po¬ 
mace is just as good, only add skimmings and water for the cider taken. 
Yinegar made this way is better, I think, than when made of sorgo alone. It 
can hardly be detected from pure cider vinegar, and is just as good. Bear in 
mind that only enough water should be added to reduce the strength of the 
skimmings to about that of cider. You need saccharine to make good vinegar. 
You can’t make vinegar from a few apple peelings and a barrel of rain water.” 
















269 


AROUND THE EAR At. 

Blasting Stumps. —The following is the modus operandi of blasting 
stumps with dynamite: Make a hole an inch in diameter near the stump, 
inclining at an angle of about forty-five degrees, so as to reach underneath 
the body of the stump. This hole may be made with a crowbar through the 
soil, but if there be a large deep tap-root it will be necessary to continue the 
hole into the body of the tap-root by means of a long auger. A cartridge 
containing three or four ounces of dynamite is then inserted to the bottom of 
the hole, and a slow match having a peculiar percussion cap on the end is 
inserted in the cartridge. The hole is then tampered with earth, and when 
all is ready the outer end of the match is lighted, and the operator retires to 
a safe distance. The explosion usually not only extracts the stump from 
the ground, but tears it into pieces small enough to handle easily. The 
dynamite costs about forty cents per pound, so that a three or four ounce 
charge, with its fuse, would cost about ten cents—making the cost of blow¬ 
ing up a stump about ten cents, besides the labor. 

How to Thatch Roofs._Rye straw threshed with a flail and kept 
straight, with the short 
or broken straws raked 
out, is the best material. 

The roof is made ready 
for thatching by nailing 
strips of boards, say one 
by two inches, across the 
rafters, putting them a 
foot apart. The pitch 
should be steep, to in¬ 
sure a waterproof and 
durable roof. The straw 
should be cut to a uni¬ 
form length, and care 
taken to have it straight 
and all right. The 
sketch shows how the' 
roof is prepared for the straw, and the manner the courses are laid. Tie 
the straw in bundles that will average six inches in thickness. The band 
should be close to the upper end, the one which is fastened to the cross 
strip. The courses should overlap, so as to make the roof the thickness of 
three bundles. 

Fish Culture for the Farm. —No farm should be without a fish pond, 
well stocked, any more than it should be without poultry. This may be a 
startling announcement to farmers who have to go one hundred feet to 
water, but it is none the less practical, as much as to keep stock on such a 
farm. Water must be produced in either instance. On most farms the 
drainage is favorable to ponds by throwing a dam across some sag or ravine 
and retaining the water that would naturally run off. The pond would 
serve the purpose of both stock and fish. Where this plan is not practicable, 
a pump worked by a wind-mill will answer as well if kept running; the sur¬ 
plus water drained into an artificial pond would supply the water. The 
pond should be at least eight feet deep in the center. This would give the 
fish an opportunity to place themselves beyond the reach of ice. A pond of 
fifty feet in diameter would accommodate a reasonable supply of fish for an 



HOW TO THATCH ROOFS. 





























m 


THE FA EM, 


ordinary family if the fish are properly fed. Perhaps there is no fish so well 
calculated for this character of farming as the carp. It feeds on vegetables, 
and in its habits has about the relation to an ordinary game fish that the 
farm yard fowl has to the game fowl. 

A Suggestion for Drainage— A Missouri farmer relates an experience 
which offers suggestions, which, while they may not be exactly new, may 
have for many, great practical value. There were upon his farm several 
depressions which in wet seasons held ponds of water. To drain these by 
ordinary means would have been very expensive, because no gravel could 
be got near the farm, and there was no tile factory in that vicinity. Open 
ditches were out of the question. 

The services of an expert well-borer were secured. He sank several 
test shafts in various parts of the farm, and found that the underlying 
ground was a tenacious blue clay, fourteen to sixteen feet thick, and almost 
perfectly impervious. Beneath this was found a strata of white sand. Tho 
well-borer and his machine were placed in a wagon, which by means of a 
long rope was hauled to the deepest parts of a pond about an acre in extent. 
Here he bored a well down to the sand, completing the operation before 
sunset of the day when the work began. In thirty-six hours the water had 
disappeared and the pond was dry. To make this short perpendicular drain 
permanent he had it cleared of sediment, sunk the shaft about two feet into 
the bed of sand, and filled to the top with clean, coarse gravel from a creek 
bed. The gravel was heaped about a foot high above the shaft to strain the 
water properly that the shaft might not become choked. 

They are thousands of places in the West where, year after year, farmers 
have plowed around such wet spots, giving them up to the possession of 
rushes and frogs. Yet they could be drained easily by a few hours’ work. 
In Western Michigan a large swamp lay for years on the southern edge of a 
village, a noisome barrier to progress and a bone of contention in village and 
township politics. To drain it a large ditch a mile or two long would have 
been required; but some one, fortunately, discovered that a thin sheet of 
clay was all that kept the water from going down into a deep strata of gravel, 
boulders and sand. The wells were sunk and the swamp thoroughly drained 
at an almost nominal cost, leaving rich black soil, which is the most produc¬ 
tive and valuable in all that district. There maj be thousands of similar 
swamps, where two or three days spent in sinking test shafts would show a 
ready means for converting sloughs or swamps into fields of wonderful 
fertility. 

Important Use of Coal Oil. —A Southern farmer says: “ I once read an 
article enumerating some of the practical uses to which coal oil can be suc¬ 
cessfully put, in which the writer suggested that it would be an effective 
remedy against the apparently indestructible bott or gffub in horses. I had 
a horse which had always been sohopelessly infected with both grubs and 
the small intestinal worm, that he could never be kept in a better condition 
than that of a skeleton, and with a ravenous appetite, and the best of treat¬ 
ment with the use of all known remedies, appeared to be nothing more or 
less than an improved type of a successful worm manufactory. Out of pa¬ 
tience and disgusted with my patient, and not knowing how much kerosene 
a horse could take without injury, yet determined to “ kill or cure ”—not 
cariug much which—I commenced to drench with a gill of oil, intending to 
double the dose every day till a “ cure ” or a “ kill ” was effected. On the 


AROUND THE FARM. 271 

first clay I gave a gill, on the next a half a pint, and on the third a pint, and 
it was very soon apparent that that was enough both for the worms and the 
horse. Large quantities of both kinds passed, and the horse appeared to be 
on the point of passing too, hut he didn’t; and soon after all the usual symp¬ 
toms of worms had disappeared, and the horse commenced to improve rap¬ 
idly in flesh and general condition, and is now in better condition than I 
have ever seen him, and still improving. 

“ I also experimented with kerosene on cut nails to make them take the 
place of wrought nails in a cart body I was building. I brought the nails to 
a red heat, dropped them into the oil and let them stand until cool, Avhen 
they could bo clinched, bent and twisted into any desirable shape almost 
with as much case and safety as a piece of wire, of the same size. My cart 
body required 100 nails, for which any blacksmith would have charged me 
one dollar. Two pounds of ten penny nails cost ten cents, leaving a balance 
of ninety cents in favor of the kerosene. This is a small item, but the farmer 
can save many such during the year, and it is the little things that pay.” 

Draining Wet Land. —The objects of draining are: 

1. To carry off surface water, by open drains. 

2. To lower the water line. 

3. To prevent waste of the surface-applied manure, by washing off the 
soluble elements before they become incorporated in the s'il. 

4. To put the soil in a condition to be benefitted by the use of lime, ashes 
and alkaline substances. There is no use in manuring or liming land that 
lies under water half the year. 

5. To make the land a better absorbent of ammoniacal. nitrogenous and 
carbonic acid gases—so necessary for the growth of all crops. 

6. To make the soil more porous, so that rains and melted snow shall 
1 descend through the soil, leaving their fertilizing elements in the earth that 
[ has acted as a filter, instead of flooding the surface and carrying all their 
) rich freights off of the land. 

The infinitely wise Father has provided a vast reservoir of the richest 
agricultural elements which Ho pours upon the earth, in the rain and snow, 
for us to utilize. The science of agriculture is teaching the wise how to se¬ 
cure and utilize these elements. One way to do it is, to render the soil 
porous and friable, ready to receive and hold the nitrogen and carbonic acid 
gas that is precipitated upon it in showers and snow. The nitrogen thus 
precipitated by rains goes down to the alkaline elements constantly being 
liberated in the soil and unites with the potash, soda and lime, forming the 
nitrates of lime and soda and potash, thus making the soil one vast labora¬ 
tory, on nature’s grand scale, for the production of a fertilizer that will never 
deplete but constantly enrich the lands of the intelligent agriculturist. 

7. To enable the farmer to start his plow from ten days to three weeks 
earlier in the spring, and to keep it going when lands undrained are unfit to 
work. The time lost on undrained lands in the spring and fall and after 
heavy rains, which can be improved on well drained lands, will be sufficient 
in from one to three years to satisfactorily drain most farms. 

8. To make tho land earlier and later. Well drained land, is much 
warmer and advances the growth of plants faster than land saturated with 
water. As we can start our plows from ton days to three weeks earlier on 
drained fields than on undrained, there is more than a corresponding differ¬ 
ence in maturing of the crops in consequence of a warmer and quicker soil. 
And as the plow can run later in the season wheu the fall rains are made to 



THE HARM. 


percolate through the soil into drains, so the season is not only earlier in 
the spring but correspondingly prolonged in the fall, enabling one team to 
accomplish during the season much more work. Every farmer knows what 
a rush and hurry there is, when ground is undrained, to push things when 
soil is tempered just right for work. Well drained land is always tempered 
right. Steady work, which accomplishes the most, and not hurry, becomes 
the order of the day, while there is always time to do everything well. 

9. Another object of draining is to deepen the soil. Where the water 
line has been six inches from the surface, that is the depth of the man’s farm 
for all practical purposes. Neither cereals nor root crops will go down below 
the water line. Trees do badly. Apples, pears and quinces blight when the 
top roots go below the w r ater line. Lowering the water line twelve inches 
gives the tiller of the soil a new farm more valuable than the first. The 
potash, soda, phosphoric acid and lime of the first six inches has sunk dow T n 
into the strata below. As these substances, so necessary to the growdh of 
plants, sink down into the earth when w r et, so they rise in the form of nitrate 
when the ground is dry. So that underdraining gives the farmer control 
by clovering and root cropping, of more valuable elements and gx-eater 
quantities of them, than he can afford to buy. 

10. The last object of draining we will mention is, to l’ender the farm and 
neighborhood more healthy. This is no unimportant consideration. We 
know of districts of counti*y many miles square which twelve years ago were 
greatly subject to chills and fevers, but which, by only partially draining and 
liming, have become almost entirely free from these maladies. It is just 
■what any thinking person would suppose. Where the land is low and the 
water lies either on the surface or within an inch or two of it, tho surface 
vegetation is decomposed by the action of the moisture as soon as the warm 
rays of the sun fall upon it. Malarial marsh gas is eliminated; bilious and 
intermittent fever, stomach and bowel afflictions, that carry off numbers of 
children, follow as a natural and necessary consequence. Where there is ' 
only a small pond hole, that di-ies up in summer, near the house, doctors 
are sure to be in demand. We hardly know w T here to stop writing on this 
important subject. Many other reasons for draining will readily suggest 
themselves, and farmers should study the various methods of draining wet 
land. 

Ilow to Cal-© Hams —This receipt is fifty years old, and it is the best. 
To each twenty pounds of fresh meat make a mixture of one-fourth of a 
pound of brown sugar and a dessertspoonful of ground saltpetre; rub this 
well by hand into the meat; then with coarse salt cover the bottom of a bar¬ 
rel, say to half an inch; put in hams, and cover wuth half an inch of salt, and 
so on until the bari*el is full; hams should remain in a cool place four weeks; 
when salted, wipe and dry them, and get some whole black pepper, which 
you must grind yourself, and pepper thoroughly, especially about the hock ! 
and bone; let the ham lie for two days; then smoke for eight w’eeks. 

Axle-Grease—A fh*st-rate axle-grease is made as follows: Dissolve half 
a pound of common soda in one gallon of water; add three pounds of tallow 
and six pounds of palm oil, or ten pounds of palm oil only. Heat them to¬ 
gether to 200 or 210 degrees Fahr.; mix, and keep the mixture constantly 
stirred until the composition is cooled down to 60 or 70 degrees. A thinner 
composition is made with half a pound of soda, one gallon of water, one gal¬ 
lon of r ape oil, and a quarter of a pound of tallow, or palm oil. 








AROUND THE FARM. 


273 


Driving Nails Into Hard Wood. —The editor of an agricultural peri¬ 
odical witnessed an experiment of driving nails into hard seasoned timber, 
fairly dried. He says that the first two nails, after passing through a pine 
board, entered about one inch, and then doubled down under the hammer; 
but on dipping the points of the other six or eight nails into lard, every one 
was driven home without the least difficulty. Carpenters who are engaged 
in repairing old buildings sometimes carry a small lump of lard or tallow for 
this purpose on one of their boots or shoes. 

Good Well Curbing. —The best timber for curbing a well is hemlock, 
which is very durable when under water, and gives no flavor to the water. 
Of the woods some mention, all would rot very quickly except pine and 
tamarack, but pine is objectionable on account of its strong flavor. If hem¬ 
lock cannot be procured, tamarack would be the best. The timber should 
be cut in two or three inch planks, and put together by halving the timbers 
at the end, and holding the halved parts dovetailed or cornered together, so 
that the sides cannot be forced in by the pressure of the earth, the upper 
half of one piece fitting upon the lower half of the other piece. 

To Repair Leaky Roofs. —One of the very best preparations for repair¬ 
ing roofs that leak is to procure coal tar at the gas-works, and mix finely- 
sifted coal ashes or road dust with it till about as thick as mortar. Plaster 
with this carefully around leaky-roofed valleys or gutters, or about chimney 
flushings. It will soon set as hard as stone, and apparently as indestructi¬ 
ble. This preparation is very cheap, and would probably answer equally 
well spread all over a roof previously laid with felt or roofing paper. Once 
put on properly, it would seem to be there for all time. 

A Cheap Rain Gauge. —To make a rain gauge for farmers’ use, just as 
good as if it cost three dollars, take a quart fruit can free from dents, hold 
the top in the fire until the solder is melted, then knock it off; place the can 
on a post, with brackets nailed around to keep it in place. Make a rule six 
inches long, divided into tenths of inches—one made out of a strip of slate is 
best. Measure the rain every morning after falling. An inch of rain is a 
good rainfall, if it comes gently. This in weight will be 226,875 pounds, or 
113 tons 875 pounds to the acre. 

Burning Stumps.— Tree stumps are said to be easily removed by boring 
a two-inch hole eighteen inches doep into the stump. Do this in the fall, 
and fill with a concentrated solution of saltpetre, and plug up to keep out 
water. By spring it will have permeated every part. Then fill the hole with 
kerosene, set on fire, and the whole stump, it is said, will be consumed, 
even to the roots. It would seem to be feasible, and it is certainly an 
easy wav to get rid of stumps. The ashes will remain to fertilize the soil. 

How to Get Rid of Rats —The English Standard says: “ Several corre¬ 
spondents write to announce the complete extirpation of rats and mice from 
their cow-stalls and piggeries since the adoption of this simple plan: A mix¬ 
ture of two parts well-bruised common squills and three parts finely-chopped 
bacon is made into a stiff mass, with as much meal as may be required, and 
then baked into small cakes, which are put down for the rats to eat. 

Whitewash That Will Stick— To make whitewash that will not wash 
off bv the rain, one peck of lime should be slaked in five gallons of water, in 
■^ytjicji quo pound of rice has been boiled until ij> i§ fill dissolved, Tlje rice 




274 


THE FARM. 

water should be used hot, and the mixture covered up closely until the lime 
is slaked. Then add a pound of salt, and the wash heated to boiling when 
used. It is not an expensive preparation. It can be prepared by any 
person wishing to use a good wash, and is highly satisfactory. Brother 

farmers, try it. 

Signs of a, Prosperous Farmer. —When lights are seen burning in his 
house before the break of day, in winter especially, it shows that the day 
will never break on the breaking in of the winter of adversity. 

When you see him drive his work instead of liis work driving him, it 
shows that he will never be driven from good resolutions, and that he will 
certainly work his way to prosperity. 

When he has a house separate from the main building purposely for 
ashes, and an iron or tin vessel to transport them, it shows that he ne\er 
built his dwelling for a funeral pyre for his family, and perhaps himself. 

When his hog-pen is boarded outside and in, it shows that he is “ going 
the whole hog or none,” in keeping plenty inside his house and poverty out. 

When his sled is safely housed in summer, and his farming implements 
covered both winter and summer, it plainly shows that he will have a good 
house over his head in the summer of early life and the winter of old age. 

When his cattle are properly shielded and fed in winter it evinces that he 
is acting according to Scripture, which says that “ a merciful man is merciful 
to his beast.” 

When he is seen subscribing for a newspaper and paying for it in advance, 
it shows that he is speaking like a book respecting the latest movements in 
agriculture, and that he will never get his walking papers to the land of 
poverty. 

To Clean an Old Roof. —Those wishing to know the best mesyis of re¬ 
moving moss and earth accumulations from an old shingle roof, are advised 
to sprinkle lime freely along the comb of the roof, and let the rains dissolve 
and carry it over the shingles. Every particle of dirt and moss will be re¬ 
moved by it. If kept clean, shingles will last much longer. This method 
is as good and cheaper than any direct application to the shingles. 

Paint for Farmers. —Farmers will find the following profitable for 
house or fence paint: Skim milk, two quarts; fresh slaked lime, eight ounces; 
linseed oil, six ounces; white burgundy pitch, two ounces; Spanish white, 
three pounds. The lime is to be slaked in water, exposed to the air and 
then mixed with about one-fourth of the milk; the oil in which the pitch is 
dissolved to be added a little at a time, then the rest of the milk, and after¬ 
ward the Spanish white. This is sufficient for twenty-seven yards, two coats. 
This is for white paint. If desirable, any other color may be produced; 
thus, if cream color is desired, in place of the part of Spanish white use the 
other alone. 

To Prevent n Carriage from Spotting._A newly-varnished carriage 
is liable to spot. To prevent this some wash the carriage two or three times 
in clean cold water applied with a sponge instead of using a hose; this will 
help harden the surface, and prevent it to some extent from being injured by 
the mud or water getting' splashed on the job. Never let mud dry on the 
surface, and then wash off expecting to see no spots on the varnish. You 
will certainly be disappointed, and the only way to remedy this evil will be 
to have it revarnished. Soft water is better than hard water for the washing 


AROUND THE FARM. 275 

of carriages, as the lime which is in the hard water is very liable to injure 
the varnish. 

Removing Carbonic Acid Gas or Foul Air from Wells—A corre¬ 
spondent gives an account of an extemporized apparatus for removing car¬ 
bonic acid gas from wells. It was simply an opened out umbrella let down and 
rapidly hauled up a number of times in succession. The effect Avas to re¬ 
move the gas in a few minutes from a avoII so foul as to instantly extinguish 
a candle previous to the use of the umbrella. Whenever there is an escape 
of gas in an apartment, the adoption of this plan will be found useful. 

To Render Wood Uninflammable-Professor Kedzie, of the Agri¬ 
cultural College of Michigan, an expert chemist, says that a paint or wash 
made of skim milk, thoroughly skimmed, and water brine, will render Avood 
uninflammable, and he proved it by experiment. He said this paint, or Avhite- 
wash, is durable, very cheap, impervious to water, of agreeable color, and, 
as it will prevent Avood from taking fire, urged its use, particularly on roofs, 
outbuildings, barns, etc. 

Remedy fbr Burdocks. —It is said that a certain and speedy remedy 
for burdocks has been found in kerosene oil. A small quantity poured into 
the heart of a plant, directly after cutting, leaves no trace of their existence 
save a small hole in the earth Avhere they stood, Befined or crude oil Avill 
accomplish the purpose just as well. 

Paint, for One Cent a Pound— To one gallon of soft, hot water, add 
four pounds sulphate of zinc (crude). Let it dissolve perfectly, and a sedi¬ 
ment will settle at the bottom. Turn the clear solution into another vessel. 
To one gallon of paint (lead and oil), mix one gallon of the compound. Stir 
it into the paint slowly for ten or fifteen minutes, and the compound and 
paint Avill perfectly combine. If too thick thin it Avith turpentine. 

A Good Word for Toads. —Toads, according to Prof. Miles, live almost 
entirely upon sings, caterpillars, beetles and other insects, making their 
rounds at night, Avhen the farmer is asleep—and the birds, too—and the in¬ 
sects are supposed to be having their own Avay. French farmers understand 
these facts so well that they purchase toads, at so much a dozen, and turn 
them loose. 

Protect the Swallow. —Among insectivorous birds the swallow is 
Avorthy of great encouragement. An examination of the stomachs of eight¬ 
een SAvallows killed at different seasons of the year shoAved that they con¬ 
tained an average of 400 undigested insects each, and not a single grain of 
corn (of any kind), or the least particle of fruit or a trace of any vegetable. 

Plan for Keeping Hams. —Avery good A\ T ay of keeping hams is to Avrap 
them in strong brown paper so that the ashes cannot come in contact Avith 
them. Then pack them in clean, hard wood ashes, in dry boxes or barrels. 
This Avill keep avcII cured hams quite sweet, as the ashes serve as a protec¬ 
tion against insects. The boxes should be set in a cool, dry place. 

Improving Lawns. —For ridding laAvns of unsightly Aveeds, such as 
plantain and dandelions, the folloAviug plan is recommended by an experi¬ 
enced gardener: To the end of a light wooden rod attach a small sponge, 
or better, wind a foAV thicknesses of cloth around it, dip the sponge in oil of 


276 


TEE FARM. 


vitriol, and with it touch the heart of the weed. The oil of vitrol may be car¬ 
ried in a wide-mouthed bottle at the end of another rod. 

Mold in Cellars. —To get rid of mold in cellars, put some roll brimstone 
into a pan and set fire to it; close the doors, making the cellar as nearly air¬ 
tight as possible, when the fungi will be destroyed and the mold dried up. 
Repeat this simple and inexpensive operation every two or three months for 
two or three hours at a time. 

Thawing Frozen Apples.—It is stated by those who have had the ad¬ 
vantage of experience, that if apples which have been frozen are thawed in 
the dark they are uninjured; but if in the light, they very soon become 
unfit for use. We should suppose the same result would most likely appear 
if the experiment were tried with potatoes. 

Washing Harness. —It is bad policy to wash harness with soap, as the 
potash injures the leather. If the harness becomes rusty rub off the dirt as 
well as possible with a soft brush, and apply a dressing of grain black, fol¬ 
lowed with oil or tallow, which will fasten the color and make the leather 
soft and pliable. 

A Good Suggestion About Harness. —Add a little glycerine to the 
grease applied to harness, and it will be kept in a soft and pliable state, in 
spite of the ammoniacal exhalations of the stable, which tend to make it 
brittle. 

Gas Tar for Wagon Wheels. —A farmer who lias tried it speaks in the 
highest praise of gas tar for painting wagon wheels, stating that it tightens 
tires and spokes better than anything that can be tried. 

Mice in the Grain Chest. —If you are troubled about the grain chest 
with mice, watch for their holes and scatter a little copperas in them. A few 
grains will drive them away. 

Rats and Mice. —Rats and mice will go into a trap much more readily if 
a piece of looking-glass is put in any part of the trap where they can see 
themselves. They are social little creatures, and where they can see any ot 
their tribe, there they will go. 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 

COOKING RECIPES. 


Breakfast Dishes. 

To Make Good Coffee. —French cooks are famous for the excellence of 
their coffee, which they make so strong that one part of the liquor requires 
the addition of two parts to reduce it to the proper strength. This addition 
is made with hot milk. The large proportion of hot milk, in the place of so 
much warm water, gives the coffee a richness like that made by the addition 
ot cream in the ordinary way. By this means any housekeeper desirous of 
making good coffee, can have it without cream. 

Hominy Muffins.- -Take two cups of very fine hominy, boiled and cold; 
heat it smooth and stir in three cups of sour milk, half a cup of melted 
butter, two tablespoonfuls of salt and two tablespoonfuls of white sugar; 
then add three eggs well beaten, one tablespoonful of soda dissolved in hot 
water, and one large cup of flour; bake quickly. 

Corn Muffins. —One pint of corn meal, one pint of sour milk, two table- 
spoonfuls of soda, two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, three tablespoon¬ 
fuls of melted butter, a little salt. Stir soda into the milk and mix with the 
meal; add the eggs, melted butter, sugar and salt. Beat briskly, and bake 
in cups in a hot oven. Very nice breakfast cakes. 

Breakfast Muffins. —Set a rising as for bread overnight. In the morn¬ 
ing, early, warm a pint of milk and beat into the dough sufficient to make it 
as for ordinary muffin batter; beat well for five or ten minutes and set to 
rise for breakfast. Bake in rings on a very hot griddle, and turn frequently 
to prevent burning. 

Buttermilk Muffins. —One quart of sour milk, two eggs, one teaspoon¬ 
ful of soda dissolved in warm water, a teaspoonful of salt, and flour suffi¬ 
cient to make a good batter. Beat the eggs well, stir them into the milk, 
then add the flour and salt, and lastly the soda. Bake in a quick oven. 

Bread Griddle Cakes. —To a pint of bread crumbs add one pint of 
boiling milk; cover closely and let it stand over night. In the morning mash 
to a smooth paste and beat in the yelks of two eggs; then slowly add one- 
half pint of cold milk, beating all the time; and one-half pint of flour with 
which a measure of baking powder has been sifted; lastly add the whites of 
the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; fry like griddle cakes. 

Buckwheat Cakes. —The best buckwheat cakes aro made with a* 
addition of com meal flour and oat meal flour to the buckwheat, in this pro- 






278 TnE HOUSEHOLD. 

portion: Six cups of buckwheat, three cups of oatmeal flour, or if this 
cannot be obtained, substitute graham flour in its place, and one cup of 
corn meal flour; to this add a dessertspoon evenly filled with salt, two 
tablespoonfuls of molasses, and lukewarm water sufficient to form a batter; 
stir through the flour well four teaspoonfuls of baking powder before wetting; 
but these cakes are much better raised over night with yeast. 

French Pancakes. —To make French pancakes, take two eggs, two 
ounces of butter, two ounces of sifted sugar, two ounces of flour, half a pint 
of new milk. Beat the eggs thoroughly and put them into a basin with the 
butter, which should be beaten to a cream; stir in the sugar and flour, and 
when these ingredients are well mixed, stir in the milk, keep stirring and 
beating the mixture for a few minutes. Serve with a cut lemon and sugar, 
and pile the pancakes on a dish, with a layer of preserves or marmalade 
between each. 

Egg Pancakes. —Beat six eggs light, add some salt, and one pint of 
flour, and stir in gradually enough milk to make a thin, smooth batter. 
Take a hot griddle or skillet, butter the bottom, and put in enough batter to 
run over it as thin as a dollar piece. When brown turn it. When done take 
it out on a dish; put a little butter, sugar and cinnamon over it. Fry another 
and treat likewise, and so on until a plate is piled. Send hot to table for 
dessert or breakfast or tea. 

Cream Pancakes. —Take half a pint of thick cream, two ounces of 
sugar, and a teaspoonful of finely-powdered spice; beat the yelks of three 
eggs, add them to the cream; mix well together; simply rub your pan with 
a bit of frilure , make it hot, put in a small quantity of the batter, so as to 
have the pancakes as thin as possible. Serve them sprinkled over with grated 
lemon peel and pounded loaf sugar. 

Corn Griddle Cakes.—Two cups of coarse corn meal, two cups sour 
milk, or buttermilk, one egg, one tablespoonful graham flour, one teaspoon¬ 
ful soda dissolved in boiling water; make a batter of the meal, milk, eggs, 
and flour; if it is too thick add a little milk; then stir in the dissolved soda, 
beat well, and bake immediately on a hot griddle; do not scorch the cakes. 

Wheat Griddle Cakes. —One quart of sour milk, two even teaspoonfuls 
of soda and one even teaspoonful of salt, flour enough to make a good batter; 
stir until the lumps are broken; fry at once. 

To Make Batter Pancakes— Well beat three eggs with a pound of 
flour, put to it a pint of milk and a little salt, fry them in lard or butter, 
grate sugar over them, cut them in quarters, and serve them up. 

Breakfast Corn Cakes. -Two eggs, one cup sweet milk, two table¬ 
spoonfuls sweet cream, one-half cup sugar, three-fourths cup flour, two cups 
Indian meal, three teaspoonfuls baking powder. 

Lemon Flapjacks.—One pint of milk, four eggs, juice of one lemon, a 
pinch of soda, and flour enough to make a light batter. Fry in hot lard. 
Serve with sugar and nutmeg. 

Delicious Waffles.—One and one-half pint sweet milk; one teacup 
butter and lard, or one cup of either melted and put in the milk, then stir in 
the flour; next beat the yelks of four eggs, and add with two tablespoonfuls 


COO KIN a RECIPES. 279 

i“>i yeast and beat very bard. Beat the whites last, and stir them in gently. 
The consistency of the batter should be about like griddle cakes, or so it will 
run easily in the irons. 

Hominy Fritters. —Cook the hominy well; let it boil down pretty thick 
before using; add to one quart of boiled hominy about half a cup of sweet 
milk, one egg, a little salt, and flour enough to fry and turn without running; 
only enough lard required in frying to prevent burning; too much milk and 
flour toughens them. 

Omelet. —Comparatively few of our housekeepers dare attempt an 
omelet, but there is nothing difficult about it. The chief cause of failure 
lies in not having the spider hot enough, or in making an omelet too large 
for the pan. For a spider eight inches in diameter, not more than four eggs 
should be used. For an omelet of this size, use four eggs, one teaspoonful 
of salt, and two tablespoonfuls of cream, or in place of that, use milk. Beat 
the yelks alone to a smooth batter, add the milk, salt and pepper, and lastly, 
the well-beaten whites. Have the frying-pan very hot. Put in a tablespoon¬ 
ful of butter, which should instantly hiss. Follow it quickly with the well- 
beaten mixture, and do not stir this after it goes in. Cook over a hot fire, 
and as the egg sets, loosen it from the pan without breaking, to prevent 
burning. It should cook in about ten minutes. When the middle is set, it 
is a good plan to place the pan on the high grate in the oven to brown the 
top. This is not needed if you turn half of the omelet over upon itself 
before turning the whole from the pan upon a hot dish. Eat while hot. 

Scrambled Eggs. —Many use only eggs with butter and salt for this 
dish—for four eggs, one tablespoonful of butter. Melt the butter and turn 
in the beaten eggs, and stir quickly one or two minutes over a hot fire. A 
common practice is to increase the quantity without impairing the quality 
by adding milk—a small cup to six eggs, and a tablespoonful of butter 
with salt and pepper as preferred. Stir these ingredients over a hot fire, 
putting in the butter first, until the whole thickens. It should be soft and 
creamy when done. It is very fine served on toast. 

Eggs a la, Creme. —Hard boil twelve eggs, and slice them in thin rings. 
In the bottom of a deep baking dish spread bits of butter, then a layer of 
bread crumbs, and then a layer of boiled eggs. Cover with bits of butter, 
and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Continue thus to blend these ingredients 
until the dish is full or nearly so. Crumbs over which bits of butter are 
sj^read, must cover all of these bits of eggs, and over the whole mixture a 
pint of sweet cream or sweet milk must be poured, before it is baked in a 
moderately heated oven. 

Eggs Newport Style. —Take one pint of bread crumbs and soak in one 
pint of milk. Beat eight eggs very light, and stir with the soaked crumbs, 
beating five minutes. Have ready a saucepan in which are two tablespoon¬ 
fuls of butter, thoroughly hot, but not scorching; pour in the mixture, season 
with pepper and salt, as the mass is opened and stirred with the “scram¬ 
bling,” which should be done quickly with the point of the knife, for three 
minutes, or until thoroughly hot. Serve on a hot platter, with squares of 
buttered toast. 

Stuffed Eggs. —Six hard boiled eggs cut in two, take out the yelks and 
mash fine; then add two teaspoonfuls of butter, one of cream, two or three 


‘280 THE HOUSEHOLD. 

drops of onion juice, salt and pepper to taste. Mix all thoroughly, and fill 
the eggs with the mixture; put them together. Then there will be a little of 
the filling left, to which add one well-beaten egg. Cover the eggs with this 
mixture, and then roll in cracker crumbs. Fry a light brown in boiling fat. 

Cupped Eggs. —Put a spoonful of high-seasoned brown gravy into each 
cup; set the cups in a saucepan of boiling water, and, when the gravy heats, 
drop a fresh egg into each cup; take off the saucepan, and .cover it close till 
the eggs are nicely and tenderly cooked; dredge them with nutmeg and salt. 
Serve them in a plate covered with a napkin. 

Eggs a la Mode. —Remove the skin from a dozen tomatoes, medium 
size, cut them up in a saucepan, add a little butter, pepper and salt; when 
sufficiently boiled beat up five or six eggs, and just before you serve, turn 
them into the saucepan with the tomato, and stir one way for two minutes, 
allowing them time to be well done. 

A Nice Dish for Breakfast. —Take some slices of bread cutting, off the 
crust; make a batter of three eggs and a pint of milk; soak the bread in it; 
put some butter in the frying pan; fry the slices of bread till brown. 

A Good Way to Cook Eggs. —Heat and grease the muffin irons; take 
a dozen eggs, break an egg in each muffin ring; put pepper, salt and a lump 
of butter on each; then put in the oven; as soon as it is slightly browned 
remove with a fork; dish and send to the table hot. 

Breakfast Dish. —A nice dish for breakfast is made by taking bits of 
ham that have been left from previous meals, cutting in small pieces, and 
heating them with two or three eggs stirx*ed in. Pieces ol beef may also be 
used, and enjoyed if properly cooked. Chop them fine, season with butter, 
pepper and salt, and serve hot. The excellence of these dishes depends 
upon the way in which you cook and season them. Anything which is 
warmed over, in order to be palatable, must be nicely prepared. 

Potato Cakes for Breakfast. —Save from dinner a soup-plate of mashed 
potatoes, add to it half a saltspoonful of pepper, the same of nutmeg, a 
little salt and the yelk of an egg; form into small cakes, put in a buttered 
baking-pan, brush the top with the white of an egg, and brown in a quick 
oven. 

A Cheap Breakfast Disk —Stale bread may be made into a palatable 
dish for breakfast by dipping it in butter and then frying in lard or butter. 
Make the batter with eggs—a teaspoonful of corn starch mixed in a table¬ 
spoonful of milk to each egg. A little salt should be added. 


Soups. 

Asparagus Soup —Three pounds of knuckle of veal will make a good 
strong stock. Put the veal to boil with one and a half bunches of asparagus, 
a gallon of water, and let it boil rapidly for three hours. Strain and return 
to the pot, adding another bunch of asparagus, chopped fine, and boil 
twenty minutes. Take a cup of milk, add a tablespoonful of flour; let it all 
just come to a boil and serve. Season well with pepper and salt. 

Potato Soup —Mash to a smooth paste one pound of good mealy pota¬ 
toes, which have been steamed or boiled very dry; mix them by degrees in 



COOKING RECIPES. 281 

two quarts of boiling water, in which two ounces of the extract of meat have 
been previously dissolved, pass the soup through a strainer, set it again 
on the fire, add pepper and salt; let it boil for five minutes, and be served 
with fried or toasted bread. Whei’e the flavor is approved, two ounces of 
onions, minced and fried a light brown, may be added to the soup, and 
stewed in it for ten minutes before it is sent to table. 

Green Pea Soup. —Put two quarts green peas into four quarts of water, 
boil for two hours, keeping the steam waste supplied by fresh boiling water 
—then strain them from the liquor, return that to the pot, rub the peas 
through a sieve, chop an onion fine, and a small sprig of mint, let it boil ten 
minutes, then stir a tablespoonful of flour into two of butter, and pepper and 
salt to taste; stir it smoothly into the boiling soup. Serve with well-buttered 
sippets of toasted bread. 

Cream-of-Rice Soup. —Two quarts of chicken stock (the water in which 
the fowl has been boiled will answer), one teacup of rice, a quart of cream 
or milk, a small onion, a stalk of celery, and salt and pepper to taste. Wash 
the rice carefully, and add to the chicken stock, onion and celery. Cook 
slowly two hours (it should hardly bubble). Put through a sieve; add sea¬ 
soning and the milk or cream, which has been allowed to come just to a boil. 
If milk, use also a tablespoonful of butter. 

Chicken Cream Soup. —Boil an old fowl with an onion in four quarts of 
cold water until there remains but two quarts. Take it out and let it get 
cold. Cut off the whole of the breast and chop very fine. Mix with the 

( pounded yelks of two hard boiled eggs, and rub through a colander. Cool, 
skim, and strain the soup into a soup pot. Season; add the chicken and egg 
mixture, simmer ten minutes and pour into the tureen. Then add a small 
cup of boiling milk. 

Saturday Soup. —Collect all the bones which you have on hand, beef, 
veal, mutton or fowl, and boil together one day. The next morning remove 
the fat and put the soup on to heat. If you have a little cold hash or a few 
croquettes, put them in, and add a saucer full of canned coim, salt and 
pepper to taste, a few slices of onion, half a teaspoonful of celery salt, one 
cup of stewed tomato. Boil all together, and just before serving put in a few 
drops of caramel to make it a good brown. 

Cauliflower Soup. —Cauliflower and butter. Peel the cauliflowers, and 
put them in boiling water. When they are perfectly soft, strain the water off, 
and put them in the saucepan again with some butter. Moisten them with 
water or beef broth, and finish cooking them. Put some slices of fried bread 
in the soup, and let the whole boil gently until it is thick; then serve it. 

Minute Soup. —Excellent for supper where something warm is desired, 
or for the little folks when they return from school “ almost starved to 
death.” Light bread or crackers crumbed in a bowl or deep dish, add a 
lump of butter, half a cup of sweet cream, plenty of pepper and salt; if fond 
of onions, cut a few slices thin and lay over the top and pour over plenty of 
boiling water, and you will be surprised to see how good it is. If not fond 
of onions, add an egg well beaten, after the water is poured over, and stir 
well. 

Veal Cream Soup. —Boil the remnants of a roast of veal until the meat 
falls from the bones; strain and cool. The next day put on to boil, with a 






282 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


slice of onion and one-tliird cf a cup of raw rice. Let it simmer slowly for 
an hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving add one cup of 
rich milk, or cream if you have it, heated first in a separate dish. Serve 
with grated Parmesan cheese. 

Macaroni Soup. —Put into a stewpan of boiling water four ounces of 
macaroni, one ounce of butter, and an onion stuck with five cloves. When 
the macaroni has become quite tender, drain it very dry, and pour on it two 
quarts of clear gravy soup. Let it simmer for ten minutes, taking care that 
the macaroni does not burst or become a pulp; it will then be ready to serve 
up. It should then be sent to the table with grated Parmesan cheese. 

Beef Soup. —Three pounds beef, three onions, three quarts water, one- 
half pint pearl barley. Boil beef slowly about an hour and a half, then add 
onions, sliced, and pearl barley (previously well -washed and soaked half an 
hour); then boil about an hour longer. More water may be added, suffi¬ 
cient to have two quarts of soup when done. Season to taste with pepper. 

One Day Soup. —Half a can of tomatoes, five or six cold boiled or baked 
potatoes, half an onion, one stalk of celery or a few celery tops. Boil all to¬ 
gether until the vegetables are very soft. Put through a colander, add pep¬ 
per and salt, and a pinch of sugar. Just before serving pour in one cup of 
hot milk with a pinch of soda dissolved in it. Sift over the top a few very 
dry bread crumbs. 

Mutton Soup. —Take the water that remains in the steamer after the 
mutton is cooked; there should be about three quarts; add one-half cup 
English split peas, nicely washed, one small onion, and cook gently three 
hours, adding a little more water if it cooks away much. Beforo taking from 
the fire add salt and pepper to taste. 

Poultry Soup. —Take the carcass and bones of any poultry, turkey par¬ 
ticularly, and put in a kettle with plenty of water, and boil all the forenoon, 
filling up with hot water if necessary, and at dinner time you will find to 
your surprise a most savory soup; season with salt and pepper. 

Beau Soup. —Put one quart of beans to soak over night in lukewarm 
water. Put over the fire next morning with one gallon cold water and about . 
two pounds salt pork. Boil slowly about three hours, add a little pepper. 
It is better to shred into it a head of celery. Strain through a colander and 
serve with slices of lemon to each guest. 

Julienne Soup. —Put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a soup 
kettle; stir it until melted; fry three onions and then put in three quarts of 
good stock, salt, pepper, mace and celery seed, two chopped carrots, two 
chopped turnips, a pint of dried peas that have been soaked in water over 
night. Boil two hours. 

Codfish Soup. —Boil a teacup of codfish in three pints of water for twenty 
minutes; add three tablespoonfuls of flour and a little hot water; boil up 
once; add two pints of milk, let it boil; add three eggs. When served in a 
tureen, add one poached egg for each person. 

Vegetable Soup. Take one turnip, one potato and one onion; let them 
be sliced, and boiled in one quart of water for an hour; add as much salt 
and parsley as is agreeable, and pour the whole on a slice of toasted bread. 


£83 


GOO KIN a RECIPES* 

Tomato Soup. —Pour a quart of boiling water over a pint of canned to¬ 
matoes. Let them boil for an hour, or until they become soft. Strain and 
return to the fire. Stir in a teaspoonful of soda; this will make it effervesce, 
and while it is still foaming add a pint of boiling milk, a large piece of but¬ 
ter, pepper and salt. Thicken slightly with cracker-dust and serve immedi¬ 
ately. 

Summer Soup. —Eight potatoes boiled soft, piece of butter size of two 
eggs; boil one quart of milk and one quart of water together, and pour boil¬ 
ing hot on the soft potatoes; strain, and then boil half an hour in the milk 
and water. 

Plain Soup. —Boil fresh beef or mutton bones three hours, salt; to one 
gallon liquid add one teacup washed rice, two or three cloves, boil one-half 
hour, and it is done. 

Okra Soup. —To five quarts of water and a shin of beef add four dozen 
okras, sliced thin, and a few tomatoes; boil from six to seven hours, and add 
salt and red pepper to taste. 


Meats and Poultry. 

Potted Peef. —Choose lean beef; rub it over with saltpetre, and let it lie 
twelve hours; salt it well with a mixture of bay salt and common salt. Put 
it into a jar of the requisite size, immerse it in water, and let it remain four 
or five days. Then take it out, wipe it dry, and rub it with ground black 
pepper; lay it in a pan, cover it with a crust, and bake seven hours. Take 
it out when done and let it cool; then pick out the skins and strings, and 
beat it in a strong mortar, adding seasoning of mace, cloves, and nutmeg, in 
powder, and a little melted butter and flour. Press it closely into pots, and 
pour over it clarified butter. 

French Beefsteak. —Cut the steak two-thirds cf an inch thick from a, 
fillet of beef; dip into melted fresh butter, lay them on a heated gridiron and 
broil over hot coals. When nearly done sprinkle pepper and salt. Havo 
ready some parsley, chopped fine and mixed with softened butter. Beat, 
them together to a cream, and pour into the middle of the dish. Dip each 
steak into the butter, turning them over, and lay them round on the platter. 
If you desire, squeeze a few drops of lemon over, and serve very hot. 

An Excellent Dish. —A dish equal to the best steak and cheap enough 
for any man, is prepared from a shank of beef with some meat on it. Have 
the bone well broken; wash carefully to remove bits of bone; cover Avith 
cold water; Avatch Avhen the boiling begins and take off the scum that rises. 
Stew five or six hours till the muscles are dissolved; break the meat small 
with a fork—far better than chopping—put it in a bread pan, boil down the 
gravy till in cooling it will turn to a stiff jelly. Where this is done, gelatine 
is quite superfluous. Add salt, and, if liked, other seasoning, and pour it 
hot upon the meat; stir together and set aside over night, when it will cut 
into handsome mottled slices for breakfast or supper. 

Chicken Viennese Style. —Procure tAVO very young spring chickens, 
pluck and draw them carefully, Avithout injuring the skin. Take a very 
sharp knife and cut each exactly in tAvo; sprinkle with a little pepper and 
salt, rub a little fresh salad-oil over each piece, and thoroughly egg and 










284 THE HOUSEltOLj). 

breadcrumb them. Rub a little suet on a clean gridiron, place it over a 
very clear fire, with the four pieces of chicken, broil them very carefully 
until of a nice brown color; then having ready a hot dish, with four pieces of 
toasted bread on it, lay half a chicken on each piece of toast, and pour over 
all a good white sauce, which must be made with a little raw cream. 

Chicken Patties— Chicken patties are made by picking the meat from 
a cold chicken and cutting it in small pieces. Put it in a saucepan with a 
little water or milk, butter, pepper and salt. Thicken with a little flour and 
with the yelk of one egg. Line some patty-pans with crust, not rich and yet 
not tough, rub them over with the white of the egg, and bake. When done, 
fill with the chicken, and send to the table hot. Cut out round cakes of tho 
crust for the tops of the little pies, and bake on a common baking tin. It is 
very little trouble to do this, and the pleasure afforded each child by having 
a little chicken pie of his own amply pays the right-minded cook. 

Smothered Chickens. —Cut the chickens in the back, lay them flat in a 
dripping-pan, with one cup of water; let them stew in the oven until they 
begin to get tender; take them out and season with salt and pepper; rub 
together one and one-half tablespoonfuls of flour, one tablespoonful butter; 
spread all over the chickens; put back in the oven, baste well, and when 
tender and nicely browned take out of the dripping-pan; mix with the gravy 
in the pan one cup of thickened milk with a little flour; put on the stove and 
let it scald up well and pour over the chickens; parsley, chopped fine, is a 
nice addition to the gravy. 

Virginia Fried Ckicken. —Dice and fry one half pound of salt pork 
until it is well rendered. Cut up a young chicken, soak for half an hour in 
salt and water, wipe dry, season Avith pepper, roll in flour, and try in hot 
fat until each piece is of a rich brown color. Take up and set aside in a 
warming closet. Pour into the gravy one cup of milk—half cream is better; 
thicken with a spoonful of flour, and add a spoonful of butter and chopped 
parsley; boil up and pour over the hot chicken, or, if preferred, serve with¬ 
out the cream gravy, with bunches of fried parsley. Plain boiled rice should 
accompany this. 

Beef Rolls. —The remains of cold roast or boiled beef, seasoning to tasto 
of salt, pepper, and minced herbs; puff paste. Mince the beef tolerably 
fine, with a small amount of its own fat; add a seasoning of pepper and salt, 
and chopped herbs; put the whole into a roll of puff paste and bake for half 
an hour, or rather longer, should the roll be very large. Beef patties may 
be made of cold meat by mincing and seasoning beef as directed above, and 
baking in a rich puff paste in patty tins. 

Veal Cutlets. —The cutlets should be cut as handsomely as possible, 
and about three-quarters of an inch in thickness; they should, before cook¬ 
ing, be well beaten with the blade of a chopper, if a proper beater be not at 
hand; they should then be fried a light brown and sent up to table, gar¬ 
nished with parsley, and rolls of thin-sliced, nicely-fried bacon; they are 
with advantage coated previously to cooking with the yelk of an egg, and 
dredged with bread crumbs. 

A la Mode Ckicken. —Pick and draw a fine young chicken, wash and 
wipe dry and season with salt and pepper. Make a nice pastry, roll out an 
inch thick; wrap the chicken in it, tie in a cloth, and boil an hour or two, ac- 


COOKING RECIPES. 285 

cording to the tenderness of the fowl. Make a dressing of one tablespoonful 
of flour, one of butter, and sufficient boiling water to make a smooth paste. 
Place the chicken on a dish, and pour the dressing over it, garnish with 
parsley or celery leaves and a hard-boiled egg cut in slices. 

Curry ._ Take cold chicken, turkey, or cold lamb, cut it in small pieces, 
and put in a frying-pan with about a pint or more boiling water; let it stew 
a few moments, then take the meat out, thicken the gravy with a little flour, 
add a teaspoonful of curry powder, pepper and salt to taste, and let it boil 
up once; have some rice boiled whole and dry; put it around the outside of 
the platter, and in the center put the meat; throw the gravy over the meat, 
not the rice, and serve. 

Tripe a la Byonaise with Tomatoes —This economical dish, which 
is in the reach of every family, is very fine. Take two pounds of dressed 
and boiled tripe, cut into small strips two inches long and put into a sauce¬ 
pan. Parboil and drain off the first water; chop a small onion fine and let 
all stew twenty minutes; add half a teacup of thickening and then stir in 
half a can of tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. This dish has become 
very popular in all the hotels throughout the country. 

Boiled Corn Beef. —This is much improved if cooked in plenty of water, 
and when thoroughly done, left until cold in the same water that it was 
boiled in. Lift the pot off the fire, and let pot, water, and meat grow cold 
together. This will make it much more moist and juicy, besides tender and 
sweet, than if taken out hot and all the moisture in it dried out by standing 
and steaming until it grows cold. Hams, tongues, etc., should be cooked in 
the same way. 

To Cook a Rabbit. —When nicely dressed lay it in a pan and cover with 
cold water, and add half a teacup salt and soak over night; in the morning 
drain off water and cover the rabbit inside and out with dry corn meal, and 
let stand till time to cook for dinner; then rinse, cut up and parboil in slightly 
salted water until tender; take out, roll in corn meal and fry a nice brown; 
an onion sliced and laid over it while parboiling is an improvement for 
those who like the flavor. 

Baked Ham. —Make a thick paste of flour (not boiled) and cover the 
ham with it, bone and all; putin a pan on a spider or two muffin rings, or 
anything that will keep it an inch from the bottom, and bake in a hot oven. 
If a small ham, fifteen minutes for each pound; if large, twenty minutes. 
The oven should be hot when put in. The paste forms a hard crust around 
the ham and the skin comes off with it. Try this, and you will never cook 
a ham in any other way. 

Sauce Piquaute. —Put a bit of butter, with two sliced onions, into a 
stewpan, with a carrot, a parsnip, a little thyme, laurel, basil, two cloves, 
two shallots, a clove of garlic, and some parsley; tura the whole over the 
fire until it be well colored; then shake in some flour, and moisten it with 
some broth and a spoonful of vinegar. Let it boil over a slow fire; skim, and 
strain it through a sieve. Season it with salt and pepper, and servo it with 
any dish required to be heightened. 

Minced Veal and Eggs. —Take some remnants of roast or braised veal, 
firim off all browned parts, and minco it very finely; fry a shallot, or onion. 






286 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


chopped small, in plenty of butter; when it is a light straw-color add a large 
pinch of flour and a little stock, then the minced meat, with chopped parsley, 
pepper, salt, and nutmeg to taste; mix well, add more stock if necessary, 
and let the mince gradually get hot by the side of the fire; lastly, add a few 
drops of lemon-juice. Serve with sippets of bread fried in butter round, and 
the poached eggs on top. 

Boned Clticlcen. —This is nice for picnics. First take out the breast¬ 
bone; then remove the back with a sharp knife, and next the leg bones; keep 
the skin unbroken, and push within it the meat of the legs. Fill the body 
with alternate layers of parboiled tongue, veal force-meat, the liver of the 
fowl, thin slices of bacon, or aught else of good flavor which will give a 
marbled appearance to the fowl when served; then sew up and truss as 
usual. 

Pigeon Pie. —Border a dish with fine puff paste, lay a veal cutlet (or 
tender rump steak) cut in thin slices at the bottom of the dish; season with 
salt, cayenne, nutmeg, or pounded mace. Put as many young pigeons as 
the dish will contain, with seasoning as above, and in the interstices the 
yelks of some hard-boiled eggs; put some butter over them, fill up with 
good gravy, cover with paste, glaze with the yelk of an egg, and bake. 

Mutton Cutlets in the Portuguese Way. —Cut the chops, and half 
fry them with sliced shallot or onion, chopped parsley, and two bay leaves; 
season with pepper and salt; then lay a force-meat on a piece of white paper, 
put the chops on it, and twist the paper up, leaving a hole for the end of the 
bones to go through. Broil on a gentle fire. Serve with sauce Robert; or, 
as the seasoning makes the cutlets high, a little gravy. 

A Brown Sauce. —For one quart. Stir gently in a stewpan over a slow 
fire, till of a light golden color, two ounces of butter and two ounces of flour, 
then add two pints of stock; stir till perfectly smooth; add four teaspoonfuls 
(one and one-third ounce) of the extract of meat and a sprig of marjoram, 
one of thyme, and two of parsley; boil a quarter of an hour slowly; strain, 
season, and it is fit for use. 

Fried Meat Cakes. —Chop lean raw meat, as you would for sausage, 
season with salt, pepper, and onion; shape into flat cakes, dip the cakes in 
egg and breadcrumbs, and fry in dripping. Any meat may be used for this 
dish, but it is particularly nice of beef, and the finest portions need not be 
put to this use. Drain on a strainer; have ready a dish of nicely mashed 
potatoes, on which put your beef-cakes, and serve. 

Veal Scollop —Put a layer of cold chopped veal in a buttered dish; sea¬ 
son with salt, pepper and butter; then strew over it a layer of finely pow¬ 
dered cracker, and pour over a little milk to moisten it; add another layer 
of veal and so on. When the dish is full wet well with gravy and warm 
water, cover with a tin plate and bake. Remove the cover ten minutes be¬ 
fore it is done to let it brown. 

Thick Gravy. —Melt in a stewpan a piece of butter the size of a walnut; 
add two tablespoonfuls of flour; mix well; then add one pint of hot water, 
half a teaspoonful of the extract, and sauce to taste. This will be found 
suitable for poultry, or wherever thick gravy is required. The above may 
be made richer by using a larger proportion of extract. 


COOKING RECIPES. 


287 


Hashed Fowl. —Take the meat from a cold fowl and cut it in small 
pieces. Put half a pint of well-flavored stock into a stewpan, add a little 
salt, pepper and nutmeg, and thicken with some flour and butter; let it boil, 
then put in the pieces of fowl to warm; after stewing sufficiently, serve with 
some poached eggs laid on the hash, with a sprig of parsley in the center, 
and garnish round the plate with pieces of fried bread. 

Chicken Fried. —Cut some cold chicken into pieces and rub each with 
yelks of eggs; mix together some bread crumbs, pepper, salt, nutmeg, grated 
lemon-peel and parsley; cover the pieces of chicken with this and fry them. 
Thicken some good gravy by adding flour, and put into it cayenne pepper, 
mushroom powder or ketchup, and a little lemon juice, and serve this with 
the chicken as sauce. 

To Remove Fishy Taste from Game. —Pare a fresh lemon very care¬ 
fully without breaking the thin white inside skm, put inside a wild duck and 
keep it there forty-eight hours, and all the fishy taste so disagreeable in 
wild fowl will be removed. Every twelve hours remove the lemon and re¬ 
place with a fresh one. A lemon thus prepared will absorb unpleasant 
flavors from all meats and game. 

Chicken. Fritters. —Cut into neat pieces some tender cold chicken and 
let them stand awhile in a mixture of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Make a 
batter of milk, egg, flour and salt, stir the chicken into it, and then fry in 
boiling lard, putting one bit of chicken in each spoonful of batter. Serve 
very hot, taking care to drain the fat off well. Garnish with parsley. 

Chicken Croquette. —Two sweet breads boiled; one teacup of boiled 
chicken, hashed; one boiled onion, one teacup of boiled bread and milk, 
quarter pound butter, salt and pepper. Chop chicken and sweet breads 
very fine, mix in well the other ingredients, shape into rolls, then dip in the 
yelk of an egg, then in cracker dust; drop into boiling lard and fry brown. 

IVew Way of Cooking Chickens. —A new way of cooking chickens is 
to parboil them and then drop them into hot lard, a la doughnuts, and fry a 
few minutes. This will serve to make variety in the bill of fare, but will not 
wholly take the place of the favorite method of browning in butter. Nice 
, gravy may be made by adding milk and flour to the butter in which chickens 
have been fried. 

French Chicken Pie. —A tender chicken cut in joints, half pound salt 
pork cut in small pieces, boil the two together till nearly tender in a little 
water; line a deep dish with pie-paste, put in the meat, season with salt, 
pepper and chopped parsley, put in a little water and cover over with the 
pie-paste, which should be rich; bake forty minutes. 

Pickled Tongue— The remains of pickled tongues are very nice inter- 
✓mixed and placed in a pan and pressed, when they will turn out resembling 
collared meat. A little thick jelly may be poured into the pan with them. 
Slices of cold tongue may be warmed into any kind of savory sauce and laid 
in a pile in the center of a dish, the sauce being poured over them. 

A Delicious Beefsteak.— Have your frying pan very hot, wipe the steak 
dry, place in it and cover tightly; turn frequently and keep covered. When 
done, add to the gravy one tablespoonful hot coffee, a good size lump of 
butter; salt and pepper to taste, Pour over the steak and serve hot. 







288 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


A Veal Omelet. —A veal omelet is prepared by chopping a little cold 
veal and adding to it the beaten egg. Cold boiled ham may be chopped and 
added in the same way; also veal and ham together, which is very nice. 
Three or four tablespoonfuls of meat are enough. A little chopped parsley 
is sometimes added, but herbs are not now so much used in cooking as 
formerly, though they are an addition to the flavor. 

How to Pickle Tongues. —A good-sized tongue requires to boil at 
least three hours. It is a good plan to soak it over night in cold water. To 
cook it, put it on in cold water and let it come slowly to the boil. Some 
cooks change the water when it is half done; if this course is taken, be sure 
that the fresh water is boiling before the tongue is placed in it. 

Roast Partridge. —Lard them well with fat pork; tie the legs down to 
the rump, leaving the feet on; while cooking, baste them well with but¬ 
ter. They require twenty-five or thirty minutes to cook. To make a gravy, 
put the drippings into a saucepan with a piece of butter about the size of an 
egg, and a little flour and hot water. Let it boil up once. 

To Dress Cold Fowl.—Take the remains of a cold fowl, remove the skin, 
then the bones, leaving the flesh in as large pieces as possible; dredge with 
flour, and fry a light brown in butter; toss it up in a good gravy well sea¬ 
soned and thickened with butter rolled in flour; serve hot with bits of toasted 
bread. 

Bread Sauce for Partridges. —Cut up an onion, and boil it in milk 
until it is quite soft; then strain the milk into a cup of stale breadcrumbs, 
and let it stand one hour. Then put it into a saucepan, with about two 
ounces of butter, a little pepper, salt, mace and the boiled onion. Boil it all 
up together, and serve it in a sauce-tureen. 

Stewed Diver. —Cut up into slices half a pound of calf’s liver and the 
same quantity of fat bacon; put first, a layer of bacon at the bottom of a pie- 
dish, then one of liver; sprinkle with pepper and salt, add one medium¬ 
sized onion and one apple, both cut up; cover down and let it stew gently in 
the oven for about one hour and a quarter. No water is required. 

How to Make Meat Tender —Cut the steaks the day before into slices 
about two inches thick, rub them over with a small quantity of soda; wash 
off next morning, cut into suitable thickness, and cook as you choose. The 
same process will answer for fowls, legs of mutton, etc. Try, all who love 
delicious, tender dishes of meat. 

A Nice Supper Disk.- Grate or mince lean ham very fine; mix with it 
the yelk of an egg and some cream; season with a very little nutmeg. Have 
ready some small slices of bread half an inch thick; toast them a delicate 
brown; then, while hot, spread the meat over it; break the yelk of an egg 
over the top and brown slightly in the oven, and send to table hot. 

Spiced Veal —One pound of veal, chopped very fine; season with two 
well-beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of butter, teaspoonful of salt and sage 
each. Put it into a cake-pan, and bake about an hour. Slice when cold. 

Mint Sauce for Lamb. —Two full tablespoons of very finely-chopped 
young mint, one of pounded and sifted loaf-sugar, and six of the best vino- 
gar. Stir all these ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved. 



COOKING RECIPES. 


289 


Delicious Flavor to Lamb.—To give a delicious flavor to lamb which 
is to be eaten cold, put in the water in which it is boiled whole cloves and 
long sticks of cinnamon. To one leg of lamb allow one small handful of 
cloves, two or three sticks of cinnamon. If the lamb is to be roasted, boil 
the cloves and cinnamon in water, and baste the lamb with it. 

Fillet of Veal Boiled. —Bind it round with tape, put it in a floured 
cloth, and in cold water; boil very gently two hours and a half, or if sim¬ 
mered, which is, perhaps, the better way, four hours will be taken; it may 
be sent to table in bechamel or with oyster-sauce. Care should be taken to 
keep it as white as possible. 

Cold Tongue on Toast. —Take cold smoked tongue or ham; mince or 
grate fine, mix it with the beaten yelks of eggs and cream or milk, with a 
dash of cayenne pepper; prepare thin, small, square pieces of buttered 
toast; place on a heated platter, putting a spoonful of the meat on each 
piece; cover with dish cover, and send to table hot; for breakfast or lunch. 

Veal Sausages. —Take fat bacon and lean veal in equal quantities, with 
a handful of sage, a little salt, pepper, and, if at hand, an anchovy. Let all 
be chopped and beaten well together, floured, rolled, and fried. Yeal sau¬ 
sages are better suited for persons whose digestion is not very strong than 
those made of pork. 

Excellent Tea Dish. —A delicious dish for tea or lunch is made thus: 
On a very fine wire gridiron (or one made of wire net used for screens), 
place some slices of salt pork, cut as thin as possible; on each slice lay a 
good sized oyster, or two small ones; broil and serve hot. This, with coffee, 
crisp toast, with chopped cabbage, makes an almost ideal lunch. 

A Good Breakfast, Disli. —A good dish for breakfast is made by chop¬ 
ping pieces of cold boiled or fried ham just as fine as it is possible to chop 
them; mix them with cold mashed potatoes, an egg or two, a little butter or 
cream, or both, form into balls, flour them, melt a little butter in a frying 
pan, and brown the balls. Serve hot. 

Mutton Pie. —Take the mutton chops from the forequarter, season high¬ 
ly with pepper and salt and put into a baking dish with alternate layers of 
apples, pared and sliced, and a little sprinkling of chopped onion. Put a 
crust of not very rich pastry over the top, and bake for twenty or thirty min¬ 
utes in a hot oven. 

To Cook a Duck. —To cook a duck satisfactorily, boil it first until ten¬ 
der; this can be determined by trying the wing, as that is always a tough 
part of a fowl. When tender, take it out, rinse it in clean water, stuff and 
put in the oven for about three-quarters of an hour, basting it often. 

Pressed Chicken. —Boil two chickens tender, take out the bones and 
chop tho meat fine, add a small handful of bread crumbs, season to taste, 
with butter, pepper, salt, and a little sage; pour in enough of the liquor to 
make it moist; mold in any shape you choose, and, when cold, cut in slices. 

Scrambled Mutton. —Three cups of cold boiled mutton chopped fine, 
three tablespoonfuls of hot water, one-fourth of a cup of butter; put on the 
stove, and when hot break in four eg^s and stir constantly until thick, ISeft- 
pon with pepper and suit. 








290 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


The Right Way to Cook Steak. —Broil steak without salting. 8a.lt 
draws the juice in cooking. It is desirable to keep this in if possible. Cook 
over a hot fire, turning frequently, searing on both sides. Place on a platter. 
Salt and pepper to taste. 

Boiled Tongue.— If the tongue is not hard, soak it not more than three 
hours. Put it into a stewpan with plenty of cold water and a bunch of herbs; 
let it come to a boil, skim and simmer gently until tender, peel off the skin 
and garnish it with parsley and lemon. 

Frizzled. Beef. —Chip the beef as thin as paper with a very sharp knife. 
Melt in a frying-pan butter the size of an egg, stir the beef about in it for 
two or three minutes, dust in a little flour, add half a teacup of rich cream, 
boil and serve in a covered dish. 

Roasted Tongue— Soak for two hours; sprinkle salt over it, and drain 
in a colander; this should be done with fresh tongues before using; boil it 
slowly for two hours; take off the skin, roast, and baste with butter. Swve 
with brown gravy and currant jelly sauce. 

Spieed Beef. —Five pounds of the shank, boiled five hours, with celery 
seed. Drain off the gelatine, and then chop the meat very fine, add pepper 
and salt to taste, and put it into a cloth on a platter. Cover with the cloth 
and press it. 

Broiled Hum. —Cut into thin slices, pour boiling water over them, let¬ 
ting it remain ton minutes. Wipe the ham a little and placo it on the grid¬ 
iron; this takes out the salt. Ham that has been boiled broils nicer than the 
uncooked meat. 

Liver Fried as Cutlets. —One egg to one pound of liver; have the liver 
cut thin; scald; wipe dry with a towel; beat up the egg; dip the fiver in the \ 
egg, then into pov r dered cracker; fry browm. This is very nice; serve with 
tomatoes, if preferred. 

A Good Way to Cook Liver. —A good w r ay to cook fiver is to fry it in 
butter, with an onion cut in small pieces scattered over it. Cook slowly; 
when done, add a lump of butter and a little flour; stir well, and turn over 
the fiver. Servo with Saratoga potatoes. 


Fish. 

Oyster Omelet— Twelve oysters, if large, double the number if small; 
six eggs, one cup of milk, one tablespoonful of butter, chopped parsley, salt 
and pepper; chop the oysters very fine; beat the yelks and whites of the 
eggs separately, as for nice cake, the whites until they stand in a heap. Put 
three tablespoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, and heat while you are mix- 
ing the omelet. Stir the milk in a deep dish, with the yelks and seasoning. 
Next add the chopped oysters, heating them w T ell as you add gradually. 
When thoroughly mixed pour in melted butter, and finally whip in the 
w r hites asTightly as possible. Have the butter in the pan very hot, and pour 
in the mixture. Do not stir it, but when it begins to stiffen, slip a broad- 
bladed knife around the sides and cautiously under the omelet, that the 
butter may reach every part. As soon as the center is fairly set, and the 
bottom brown, turn out into a hot dish. Lay the dish bottom upward over 



COOKING RECIPES. 291 

the frying-pan, which must be turned upside down dexterously. This 
brings the brown side of the omelet uppermost. This is a delicious break¬ 
fast or supper omelet. 

Fish Chowder. —Take a cod or haddock weighing about four pounds; 
skin it, cut in small pieces and wash in cold water; take one-fourth pound 
(scant) of salt pork, cut in pieces and fry brown in the kettle in which the 
chowder is to be made; pare and slice live medium-sized potatoes and one 
small onion, place a layer of potato and onion in the kettle; then a layer of 
lish, dredge in salt, pepper and flour; put in alternate layers until all is 
used; add hot water enough to cover, and boil gently thirty minutes; add 
one pint of milk, six crackers split and dipped in cold water; then cook ten 
minutes longer. 

Spiced Oysters.—For 200 oysters, take one pint vinegar, one grated nut¬ 
meg, eight blades of whole mace, three dozen whole cloves, one teaspoonful 
salt, two teaspoonfuls whole allspice, and as much red pepper as will lie on 
the point of a knife; put the oysters, with their liquor, into a large earthen 
vessel; add vinegar and all other ingredients; stir well together and set 
over a slow fire; keep covered; stir them several times to the bottom; as 
soon as they are well scalded they are done; put into jars; if a larger quan¬ 
tity is made it can be kept for a long time; of course these are eaten cold. 

Fried Oysters.—Use for frying the largest and best oysters you can get. 
Take them from the liquor, lay them in rows upon a clean cloth and press 
another iightly upon them to absorb the moisture; have ready some beaten 
eggs and some cracker dust. Heat enough butter in the pan to cover the 
oysters. Dip each one in the egg first, then into the cracker, rolling it over, 
that it. may be completely covered. Drop them into the frying-pan and fry 
quickly to a light brown. Do not let them remain in the pan an instant after 
they are done. Serve dry, on a hot dish. 

Broiled Oysters. —Choose large, fat oysters; wipe them very dry; 
l sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and broil upon one of the gridirons 
with close bars, sold for the purpose; you can dredge the oysters with flour 
if you wish to have them brown, and many persons fancy the juices are bet¬ 
ter preserved in that vray; butter the gridiron well, and let your fire be hot 
and clear; broil quickly and dish hot, putting a bit of butter upon each 
oyster as it is taken from the gridiron. 

Codfish with Cream. —Pick out carefully in flakes all the flesh from 
the remnants of some boiled codfish; melt a piece of butter in a saucepan, 
and add to it a large pinch of flour and a gill of milk or cream, with pepper, 
salt, and grated nutmeg to taste, also the least bit of cayenne; stir well; put 
in the fish, and gently shake it in this sauce until quite warm. If the com¬ 
position be too dry, add a little milk or cream; then add, off the fire, the 
' yelks of two eggs, beaten up with a little milk, and serve. 

Broiled Salmon. —The middle slice of salmon is the best. Sew up 
neatly in a mosquito-net bag, and boil a quarter of an hour to the pound in 
hot, salted water. When done, unwrap with care, and lay upon a hot dish, 
taking care not to break it. Have ready a large cup of drawn butter, very 
rich, ip which has been stirred a tablespoonful of minced parsley and the 
juice of a lemon. Pour half upon the salmon, and serve the rest in a boat, 
(jftrniah with parsley and sliced eggs. 



292 


THE HOUSER U LI ). 

Oyster Patty. —Scald the oysters in their own liquor, heard them, drain 
them perfectly dry, and flour and fry them lightly in butter. Take each 
oyster separately with a fork and put them into a stewpan, strain the liquor 
in which you have scalded the oysters into the butter and flour that remains 
in the frying pan, stir well together, and season with a little pepper, salt and 
a little juice of lemon; pour the whole on the oysters, and let them stew. 
When nearly done thicken with a small quantity of butter rolled in flour, 
and fill your patties. 

Salmon Croquettes. —Mix the fish thoroughly with an equal quantity of 
boiled rice, adding a little melted butter, and salt and pepper to taste. 
Mold into small sausage-shaped forms, and roll them first in finely-pow¬ 
dered crackers, then in beaten egg yelk, and again in the cracker crumbs. 
Fry in hot fat like doughnuts. A palatable, nutritious food, easily prepared, 
and as the egg prevents the entrance ot much fat they are readily digestible. 

Clams with Cream. —Chop fifty small clams, not too fine, and season 
with pepper and salt. Put into a\ stewpan butter the size of an egg, and 
when it bubbles sprinkle in a teaspoonful of flour, which cook a few minutes; 
stir gradually into it the clam liquor, then the clams, which stew about two 
or three minutes; then add a cup of boiling cream, and serve immediately. 

Baked Bluefish. —Chop up an onion and fry it in butter; then add half 
a pound of soft, fine bread crumbs, a tablespoonful of fresh butter, a little 
chopped parsley, pepper, salt, and a few drops of lemon. After cooking si 
very little, take it up and add a well-beaten egg. Stuff your bluefish with 
this. Serve the fish with a drawn butter sauce having a little finely-chopped 
pickled asparagus in it. 

Deviled C'ral* i. —Boil your hard crabs, and takeout the meat and mince 
it. Grate two ounces of bread crumbs and mix with them two hard boilel 
eggs chopped fine, some cayenne, salt, and lemon juice. Add all this to six 
ounces of the crab meat, make moist and rich with cream, clean the shells, 
fill them with the mixture, and put some bread crumbs over the top, and 
bro-an in a hot oven. 

Cra,l> Sauce. —Mix about two or three ounces of butter with a little flour, 
and melt it in about a pint of milk. Stir it over the fire for a few minutes. 
Pick the meat from a fine boiled crab, chop it into small pieces, season it 
with a little cayenne, powdered mace and salt, and stir it into the melted 
butter and milk. Then warm it gradually and simmer for a minute or two, 
but do not let it boil. 

Panned Clams.—Allow one pa,tty-pan with nearly upright sides to each 
person. Cut stale bread in rounds to fit the bottom of each pan, butter it, 
and wet with clam liquor. Fill each pan nearly full of clams, pepper and 
3alt them, and lay a bit of butter on each. Put them in a dripping-pan, 
cover with another, and bake till the edges curl—about ten minutes. Serve 
in the pans. 

Codfish. Ball;.—Boil and pick the codfish. Boil potatoes, mash well, 
mix with them a piece of butter, season with pepper and salt, and add cream 
enough to moisten them. Mix codfish and potatoes together in like propor¬ 
tion, and add three or four chopped hard-boiled eggs, and a little iinely- 
nnuced onion. Make into cakes and fry in boiling lard. 


HOOKING RECIPES. 


293 


Oyster Toast. —Toast white bread nicely, then place oysters with their 
juice on the fire; as soon as boiling remove, take out the oysters, set the juice 
back again and stir in a large tablespoonful of butter rubbed with a little 
flour, let this boil five minutes, remove, then add the yelks of two eggs, 
pepper, salt, a little chopped parsley, and the oysters, which have been 
pounded fine; use the mixture to spread over toast; set in the oven to heat 
thoroughly. 

How to Cook Clams.—Take one dozen clams—open, saving juice and 
meat—chop the meat fine. Take six eggs, mixing the Avhites and the yelks; 
then mix the clams (juice and meat) with the eggs, and cook over a slow 
fire, stirring constantly till tho mixture has the consistency of stiff cream. 
Take off and serve—a dish fit for a king. 

Fisli Croquettes. —Take one pint of any cold white fish, flake it very 
fine, remove all bones and pieces of skin; season it highly with salt, pepper, 
cayenne and onion juice. Let the taste decide, but remember that fish needs 
more than meat. Moisten the fi3h with one cup thick cream sauce. 

Clam Cakes.—Make a batter of one egg, beaten light, with one cup of 
milk, two and one-half cups of flour, and a little salt; beat well together and 
then stir in lightly thi’ee dozen clams that have been washed and drained, 
and drop in hot fat with a tablespoonful of batter, and one or two clams in 
each spoonful, fry brown and drain in a colander. Serve immediately. 

Cornisli Fish Pie. —In Cornwall almost every kind of fish is put into a 
pie, well floured over, with a little chopped parsley and onions, a little pep¬ 
per and salt, some broth or water, and a nice short cnxst over it; there is 
hole left in the crust at the top, and through this hole some cream is poured 

I in just before serving. 

Pickled Oysters. —Open the oysters, and take each one away from its 
liquor; boil some vinegar, equal quantities, with the liquor of the oysters; 

. put in some whole mace; drop the oysters into the boiling liquor, and lift 
I them speedily from the fire; then bottle them. This method keeps the oys¬ 
ters from shriveling. 

To Qroil Smoked Halibut. —Select halibut of a dark-brown color, the 
! thinnest and hardest; soak twenty-four hours in cold water, with the flesh 
side down; only cover with water; broil over hot coals; serve with a little 
butter, or poach eggs and dish them with the halibut as if for ham. 

Clam Soup. —Twenty-five clams, opened raw and chopped fine; add 
three quarts of water; boil them one-half hour, then add a pint of milk, one 
onion chopped fine, thicken with butter and flour, beat three eggs in the 
tureen, and pour your broth over them boiling hot. 

Broiled. Mackerel. —Split down the back and clean; be careful to scrape 
all tho thin black skin from the inside. Wipe dry and lay on a greased grid¬ 
iron; broil on one side brown, and then on the other side. The side that has 
the skin on should be turned to the fire last. 

Oyster Macaroni. —Boil macaroni in a cloth, to keep it straight. Put a 
layer in a dish seasoned with butter, salt, and pepper, then a layer of oys¬ 
ters, alternate, until the dish is full. Mix somo grated bread with a beaten 
egg. Spread over the top and bake. 




294 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Oyster Loaf. —Cut a round piece five inches across from the top of a 
nicely-baked round loaf of bread; remove the crumbs, leaving the crust 
half an inch thick; make a rich oyster stew and put it in the loaf in layers, 
sprinkled with bread crumbs; place the cover over the top, cover the loaf 
with the beaten yelk of an egg and put it in the oven to glaze; serve very hot. 

Sauce Piquaute for Fish. —Make a brown sauce by frying a chopped 
onion in a little butter, adding a large teaspoouful of flour and a tumbler of 
stock. Simmer a little, strain, and put in a teaspoonful of vinegar, one of 
chopped cucumber pickle, and one of capers. 

Fisli Sauce- Take half a pint of milk and cream together, two eggs, 
well beaten, salt, a little pepper, and the juice of half a lemon; put it over 
the fire, and stir it constantly until it begins to thicken. 


Vegetables. 

Boiling Potatoes. —To boil a potato well requires more attention than 
is usually given. They should be well washed and left standing in cold 
water an hour or two, to remove the black liquor with w r liich they are im¬ 
pregnated, and a brackish taste they would otherwise have. They should 
not be pared before boiling; they lose much of the starch by so doing, and 
are made insipid. Put them into a kettle of clear cold water, with a little 
salt, cover closely, and boil rapidly, using no more water than will just cover 
them, as they produce a considerable quantity of fluid themselves• while 
boiling, and too much water will make them heavy. As soon as just done 
distantly pour off the water, set them back on the range, and leave the cover 
off the saucepan till the steam has evaporated. They will then, if a good 
kind, be dry and mealy. This is an Irish receipt, and a good one. j 

Snap Beans and Potatoes. —Snap some beans and parboil them; then 
pour into a colander and let the water drain off. Take several potatoes, 
peel, and cut into small pieces; put into a saucepan a spoonful of lard and 
an onion cut up small, the potatoes, and last, the snap beans. If you have 
any beef broth, pour just enough into the skillet to cover the beans; if not, 
use boiling water; season with salt and pepper; let it boil till the potatoes 
are done. Should there be any broth, pour it off; add a piece of butter the 
size ®f a walnut and dredge a little flour over the beans; mix thoroughly by 
stirring, and let it simmer a few minutes longer, then remove from the fire. 

To Cook Asparagus. —Scrape the stalks till they are clean; throw them 
into a pan of cold water, tie them up in bundles of about a quarter of a 
hundred each; cutoff the stalks at the bottom all of a length, leaving enough 
to serve as a handle for the green part; put them into a stew pan of boiling 
water, with a handful of salt in it. Let it boil and skim it. When they are 
tender at the stalk, which will be in from twenty to thirty minutes, they are 
done enough. Watch the exact time of their becoming tender; take them 
up that instant. While the asparagus is boiling, toast a slice of bread about 
half an inch thick; brown it delicately on both sides; dip it lightly in the 
liquor the asparagus was boiled in, and lay it in the middle of a dish; melt 
some butter, but do not put it over them. Serve with butter. 

Asparagus with Eggs— This dainty luncheon-dish is made of what¬ 
ever asparagus may be left over from the previous day. Supposing there 






COOKING RECIPES. 


295 


are a dozen heads of asparagus, cut the green part into pieces the size of 
peas, melt an ounce of butter in a saucepan, add a tablespoonful of cream 
or milk, a tablespoonful of gravy, a little pepper and salt, and three well- 
beaten eggs. Throw in the asparagus, stir the eggs quickly over the fire for 
half a minute till they are set, and pour the mixture neatly upon slices of 
bread which have been dipped in boiling water and buttered. 

Stewecl Cucumbers. —Cut the cucumbers fully half an inch thick right 
through; put them in a saucepan, just covering them with hot water, and let 
them boil slowly for a quarter of an hour, or until tender, but not so as to 
break them, then drain them; you want now a pint of good cream, and put 
your cream with a teaspoonful of butter, in a saucepan, and when it is warm 
pop in the cucumbers, season with a little salt and Avhite pepper, cook five 
minutes, shaking the saucepan all the time, and serve hot. It is just as 
delicate as asparagus, and a very nice dish, indeed. 

Stuffed Turnips —Peel and boil in boiling water well salted a quart of 
medium-sized turnips; as soon as they are tender drain them, cut a slice 
from the top of each, scoop out half the middle with a teaspoon, mash the 
part taken out, with a little salt, pepper, butter and the yelk of an egg, and 
fill the turnips with the mixture; put on each one the slice cut from the top, 
brush them over with the beaten white of an egg, set them in a baking dish 
and brown them in a hot oven. Serve them hot. 

Macaroni. —People who like macaroni will find pleasure in eating it 
when prepared in this way: Boil it until it is tender, taking care to preserve 
the shape so far as possible. When it is done drain off all the water and 
pour over it a little sweet milk, with a lump of butter and plenty of pepper 
and salt. While the macaroni is boiling, cook in a separate saucepan enough 
tomatoes to make a pint when stewed. When the macaroni is ready for th© 
table, pour the tomatoes over it; serve hot. 

Stuffed Egg Plant —Cut them in half lengthwise, and parboil them in 
salted water; scoop out most of the inside and pound this to a paste in the 
mortar with a little fat bacon and some mushrooms previously chopped up, 
a little onion also chopped, pepper and salt to taste, and a little crumb of 
bread soaked in stock. Fill each half with this mixture, lay them in a well 
buttered tin and bake for about a quarter of an hour. 

Stuffed Squash. —Pare a small squash and cut off a slice from the top; 
extract the seeds and lay one hour in salt water; then fill with a good 
stuffing of crumbs, chopped salt pork, parsley, etc., wet with gravy; put on 
the top slice; set the squash in a pudding dish; put in a few spoonfuls of 
melted butter and twice as much hot water in the bottom; cover the dish 
very closely and set in the oven two hours, or until tender; lay within a 
deep dish and pour the gravy over it. 

Saratoga Potatoes. —Cut raw potatoes in slices as thin as wafers with 
a thin sharp knife; lay them in cold water over night, a bit of alum will 
make them more crisp; next morning rinse in cold water and dry with a 
towel. Have ready a kettle of lard, hotter than for fried cakes, and drop in the 
potatoes a few at a time. They will brown quickly, skim out in a colander 
and sprinkle w'ith salt, or lay them on a double brown paper in the oven till 
dry. If any are left over from the meal, they can be warmed in the oven, 
and will be just as good for another time. 






29(5 


TEE K0V8EH6LD. 

Baked Onions. —Peel ten large onions without breaking the layers; boil 
them for half an hour in well-salted boiling water, and drain them; when 
cool enough to handle cut a half-inch slice from the top of each, and take out 
a teaspoonful of the middle part; chop these pieces tine, mix them with half 
a cup of stale bread crumbs, a saltspoonful of salt, quarter of that quantity 
of pepper and the yelk of a raw egg; use this force meat to stuff the onions, 
lay them on a baking dish, brush them with the white of the egg beaten a 
little, dust .them with fine bread crumbs and bake them slowly for forty 
minutes. Serve them hot. 

Potato Dumplings. —Peel some potatoes and grate them into a basin of 
Water; let the pulp remain in the water for a couple of hours, drain it off, 
and mix with it half its weight of flour; season with pepper, salt and chopped 
onions. If not moist enough add a little water. Roll into dumplings the 
size of a large apple, sprinkle them well with flour, and throw them into 
boiling water. When you observe them rising to the top of the sattcepan, 
they will be boiled enough. 

An Appetizing Entree. —Take cold boiled cabbage, chop it fine; for a 
medium-sized pudding dish full add two well-beaten eggs, a tablespoonful 
of butter, three tablespoonfuls of cream, with pepper and salt ad libitum. 
Butter the pudding dish, put the cabbage in and bake un.il brown. This 
may be eaten cold, but it is much better if served hot. It is especially good 
with roast pork or pork chops. 

Fried Cauliflower. —Pick out all the green leaves from a cauliflower 
and cut off the stalk close. Put it, head downward, into a saucepan full of 
boiling, salted water. Do not over boil it. Drain it on a sieve, pick it out 
into small sprigs, and place them in a deep dish with plenty of vinegar, 
pepper and salt. When they have laid about an Lour in this, drain them, 
dip them in batter, and fry in hot lard to a golden color. 

Irish Stew. —This is the stew that is mostly made in Ireland. Put some 
slices of boiled corned beef (never fresh) intu a stewpan with a good deal of 
water, or thin stock, two large onions sliced, and some cold boiled potatoes 
(whole) and a little pepper. Stew gently until the potatoes are quite soft 
and have taken up nearly all the gravy; some will break; but they should 
be as whole as possible. Turn all out on a flat dish and serve. 

To Cook Spinach. —Boil spinach in the ordinary way; drain it and get 
off all the water; chop it just as finely as possible—it cannot be divided too 
much. Take a small onion, slice it very fine and brown it in butter; chop 
this fine and mix it with the spinach; have a teacup of milk, a tablespoonful 
of flour, a dessertspoonful of butter, some salt and pepper; stir in the 
spinach and cook about ten minutes. 

Tomato Pie. —Peel and slice enough green tomatoes to fill one pie; to 
this allow four tablespoonfuls of vinegar, one of butter, and three and a half 
of sugar, flavor with nutmeg, bake with two crusts very slowly. If you 
choose you may stew the tomatoes first, and then there is no danger of the 
pie being too juicy. 

Excellent Way to Cook Tomatoes. —A delicious dish (especially suit¬ 
able with cutlets, steaks, broiled ham, or anything served without gravy) 
may be made by cutting tomatoes into thin slices, and grilling them over a 


COOKINa HEC1PES. 29? 

sharp fire for ten minutes, or thereabouts; they should then be coated with 
a mixture of bread crumbs, fresh bu'ter, mustard, salt, pepper and sugar 
(proportions according to taste), and returned to the gridiron, or put into a 
hot oven to crisp. 

Baited Beets. —One of the most satisfactory ways to cook beets is to 
bake them; when boiled, even if their jackets are left on, a great deal of the 
best part of the beet is dissolved and so lost. It will, of course, take a little 
longer to bake than to boil them, but this is no objection; allow from fifteen 
to twenty minutes more for baking; slice them and eat as you would if they 
were boiled. One nice way to serve them is to chop them fine. After they 
are cooked season with pepper, salt and butter. 

tiille Cai»bage. —Wash a large cabbage, cut it in inch pieces, rejecting 
the stalk, and drain it in a colander. Meantime peel and chop an onion, frv 
it for one minute in two tablespoonfuls of drippings of butter, add the cab- 
bage, with a teaspoonful of salt, and a quarter of a saltspoonful each of pep¬ 
per and grated nutmeg, cover it, and simmer it for twenty minutes, stirring 
it frequently to prevent burning. Serve it hot. 

Vegetable Hash. —Chop, not very fine, the vegetables left from a 
boiled dinner, and season them with salt and pepper. To each quart of the 
chopped vegetables add half a cup of stock and one tablespoonful of butter. 
Heat slowly in the frying-pan. Turn into a hot dish when done, and serve 
immediately. If vinegar is liked, two or more tablespoonfuls of it can be 
stirred into the hash while it is heating. 

Balcetl Cabbage. —Boil a firm head for fifteen minutes, then change the 
water for more boiling water; boil till tender, drain and set aside to cool. 
Mince some boiled ham; mix with bread crumbs; add pepper, one table- 
spoonful of butter, and two eggs well beaten, and three tablespoonfuls of 
milk; chop cabbage very fine; mix all together, and bake in a pudding-dish 
till brown. Serve hot. 

Succotash. —Cut the corn from eight or ten cobs; mix this with one-third 
the quantity of Lima beans, and cook one hour in just enough water to cover 
them. Drain off most of the water; add a cup of milk, with a pinch of soda 
stirred in. When this boils, stir in a great spoonful of butter rolled in flour, 
season with pepper and salt, and simmer ten minutes longer. 

Potatoes a la Ducliesse. —Take some cold, boiled potatoes, cut them 
into rounds, cutting with a cake cutter wet with cold water. Grease the 
bottom of a baking-pan and set the rounds in it in rows, but not touching 
one another, and bake quickly, first brushing them all over—except, of 
course, on the bottom—with beaten egg. When they commence to brown, 
lay a napkin, folded, upon a hot dish and range them regularly upon it. 

Macaroni Cheese. —Boil two ounces of macaroni, then drain it well. 
Put into a saucepan one ounce of butter; mix it well with one tablespoonful 
of flour; moisten with four tablespoonfuls of veal stock and a gill of cream; 
add two ounces of grated cheese, some mustard, salt and cayenne to taste, 
put in the macaroni and serve as soon as it is well mixed with the sauce and 
quite hot. 

Stewed Mushrooms. —Slice the mushrooms into halves. Stew ten min¬ 
utes in a little butter seasoned with pepper and salt and a very little water. 


298 


THE 110 US E11 OLD. 

Drain, put the mushrooms into a pie dish; break enough eggs to cover them 
over the top; pepper, salt and scatter bits ot butter over them; stew with 
bread crumbs and bake until the eggs are set. Serve in the dish. 

Stewed Carrots. -Boil the carrots until they are half done, then scrape 
and cut into thick slices; put them into a stewpan with as much milk as will 
hardly cover them; a very little salt and pepper, and a small quantity of 
chopped parsley; simmer them until they are perfectly tender, but not 
broken. When nearly done add a piece ot butter rolled in flour. Serve 
hot. 

Potato Croquettes. —Take six boiled potatoes, pass them through a 
sieve; add to them three tablespoonfuls of ham, grated or minced finely, a 
little grated nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste, and some chopped parsley; 
work into this mixture the yelks of three or four eggs, then fashion it into 
the shape of balls, roll them in bread crumbs, and fry in hot lard, and serve 
with fried parsley. 

Imitation Duck. —Boil two onions until nearly soft; then chop them 
fine, and mix with pieces of stale bread crusts that have been soaked awhile 
in cold water or milk. Add a little powdered sage, some pepper and some 
salt. Grease a baking tin, put the mixture in, and strew over the top some 
grated bread and bits of butter. Bake it for half an hour and serve for 
breakfast, or a side dish at dinner. 

Potatoes Fried Whole. —When nearly boiled enough, put small po¬ 
tatoes into a stewpan with butter, or beef dripping; shake them about to 
prevent burning, till they are brown and crisp; drain them from the fat. It 
•will be an improvement if they are floured and dipped in the yelk of an egg, 
and then rolled in finely-sifted bread crumbs. This is the ordinary French 
method. 

Scalloped Squasli. —Boil and mash the squash in the customary way 
and let it cool; beat the yelks of two eggs, and when the squash is nearly 
cold, whip these into it, with three tablespoonfuls of milk, one of butter 
rolled in flour and melted into the milk; pepper and salt to taste; pour into 
a buttered bake-dish, cover with fine crumbs, and bake to a light brown in a 
quick oven. To be eaten hot. 

Potato Pie. —Peel and grate one large white potato into a dish, add the 
juice and rind of one lemon, the beaten white of one egg, one teacup of white 
sugar, one cup cold water; pour this into a nice under crust and bake; when 
done have ready the beaten whites of three eggs, half cup powdered sugar, 
flavor with lemon, spread on the pie and return to the oven to harden. 

A Delicious Disk. —Take a large fresh cabbage and cut out the heart. 
Fill the place with stuffing, or veal chopped very fine, and highly seasoned, 
rolled into balls with yelk of egg. Then tie the cabbage firmly together and 
boil in a kettle for two hours. It makes a very delicious dish, and it is often 
useful for using small pieces of meat. 

Haricot Deans. —Soak half a pint of the small white beans over night in 
just enough cold water to cover them; the next day boil two hours, strain 
and put in a pie-dish with one-half ounce of butter, a teaspoonful of finely- 
chopped parsley, previously fried; cover with slices of raw bacon, and bake 
a quarter of an hour. 


00 0 RING n EOT Pits ' 299 

Potatoes Fried with. Butter. —Nicely wash and pare some floury po¬ 
tatoes; cut each into any form you fancy, such as a large lozenge, etc.; then 
thinly slice them, so that the pieces may be of a uniform shape; dip them 
into either a sweet or savory batter, fry them in plenty of butter, and serve 
them quite hot, with either salt or pounded loaf-sugar strewn upon them. 

Scalloped Tomatoes. —Pare and slice; scatter fine crumbs in the bot¬ 
tom of a bake-disli; cover with slices of tomatoes, seasoned with sugar, pep¬ 
per, salt and butter; cover with crumbs and then with tomatoes; fill the 
dish in this order, covering all with crumbs, with bits of butter sprinkled 
upon them. Bake, covered, half an hour, and brown. 

Celery Sauce. —Pick and wash two heads of celery, cut them into pieces 
an inch long, and stew them in a pint of water and a teaspoonful of salt until 
the celery is tender. Rub a large tablespoonful of butter and a spoonful of 
flour well together; stir this into a pint of cream, put in the celery, and let it 
boil up once. Serve hot with boiled poultry. 

Fried Potatoes. —The French method of cooking potatoes affords a 
most agreeable dish. The potatoes are peeled, wiped, and cut into thin 
slices, and thrown into a frying-pan containing an abundance of hot lard. 
As soon as they become brown and crispy, they are thrown in a colander to 
drain them; then sprinkle with salt, and serve hot. 

Onions and Tomatoes. —A side dish, which will be new to many cooks, 
is made by slicing very thin some onions and green tomatoes, in about equal 
proportions, and frying them together just as you fry onions alone. Salt 
them well, and, if there is any danger of their being greasy, drain before 
serving. 

Sauce Robert. —Put two medium-sized onions, chopped very fine, with 
a large lump of butter, in a stew-pan; let them brown well, constantly stir¬ 
ring; add a teaspoonful of flour mixed with half a pint of good stock; salt 
and pepper; cook about five minutes; add a teaspoonful of mixed mustard 
and one of vinegar. 

Tomato and Onion Omelet. —Take equal parts of sliced onions aud 
tomatoes, peeled and freed from pips, chop them both coarsely. Fry the 
onions in butter. When cooked, without being colored, add the tomatoes, 
with pepper and salt, and stir the mixture on the fire. Make a plain omelet 
in the usual way, and insert this in the fold on dishing it. 

Scalloped Onions. —Boil, till tender, six large onions. Take them up, 
drain and separate them; put a layer of bread or biscuit-crumbs in a pud¬ 
ding-dish, then a layer of onions alternately, until the dish is full. Season 
with pepper and salt, add a little butter, moisten with milk, and brown halt 
an hour in the oven. 

Baked Cauliflower. —Put cauliflower to soak in salted water for an 
hour or more; look over carefully; remove the haixl stalks and leaves; 
scald for five minutes; cut into pieces and put into a pie-dish; add a little 
milk, and season with pepper, salt and butter; cover the whole with dry 
grated cheese and bake. 

Green Corn-Cakej. —Cut the corn from the coband stir it into a graham 
batter made with sweet milk; fry, and serve hot with melted butter. 


300 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Scalloped Potatoes. —Pare the potatoes, cover the bottom of a baking- 
dish with bread crumbs, then add a layer of sliced potatoes, then bits of 
butter, salt and pepper, fill the dish with the alternate layers, wet the whole 
with milk, and bake the whole for an hour and a half. 

Lima Beaus witli Cream. —Put a pint of the shelled beans into just 
enough boiling salted water to cover them, and boil them tender; then drain 
off the water; add a cup of boiling milk (or better, cream), a little piece of 
butter, pepper and salt. Let the beans simmer a minute in the milk before 
serving. 

Corn with Tomatoes. —Cut the corn from the cob and put it with an 
equal quantity of tomatoes that have been sliced and peeled; stew these 
together for half an hour; then season to taste with salt and pepper and a 
little sugar; stir in a liberal piece of butter and simmer a few minutes 
longer. 

Browned Potatoes. —Steam or boil small-sized potatoes, peel and place 
them in a stewpan with some melted butter, shake occasionally, and when all 
are well browned serve upon thin slices of toast which have been dipped in 
Chili sauce that has been thinned with a little weak vinegar. 

Tomato Sauce. —Pare, slice and stew the tomatoes for twenty minutes. 
Strain and rub through a colander, leaving the hard and tough parts behind. 
Put into a saxxce-pan with a little minced onion, parsley, pepper, salt and • 
sugar. Bring to a boil; stir in a good spoonful of butter rolled in flour. Boil 
up and serve. 

Baked Tomatoes for Breakfast. —Take a quart of cold stewed toma¬ 
toes, beat into it two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, a tablespoon¬ 
ful of chopped parsley, a little more salt and pepper, and bake for twenty 
minutes in a quick oven. 

Potato Snow.—Take large white potatoes and boil them in their skins 
until tender, drain and dry them near the fire, and peel; put a hot dish 
before the fire and rub the potatoes through a coarse sieve into it; do not 
touch afterwards or the flakes will fall; serve immediately. 

Potato PuflFs._Take any outside slices of cold meat, chop and season 
with pepper, salt and cut pickles. Mash potatoes, making them into paste 
with an egg; roll cut with a dust of flour; cut round with a saucer. Put the 
seasoned meat on one-half and fold like a puff. Fry a light brown. 

Potato Fritters. —Grate six cold boiled potatoes, add to them one 
pint of cream or new milk, and flour enough to make as stiff a batter as for 
other frittei’s, the yelk of three eggs, then the beaten whites, salt, and fry in 
sweet butter. 

Fried Egg Plant. —Peel and parboil five minutes, cut slices crosswise, 
season with pepper and salt, roll the slices in the beaten egg, then in fiixe 
breadcrumbs (or they may be dipped in batter); fry a light brown in hot 
lard. 

Horseradish Sauce. —Grate the horseradish, boil an egg hard, pound 
the yelk, and add to the above a little raw ci’eam, mustard and vinegar added 
the last thing. It must all be mixed cold and then heated. 


COOKING RECIPES. 


301 


Potato Ball j.—Mash boiled potatoes; add butter, size of an egg, two 
spoonfuls of milk, a little salt; stir it well; roll with your hands into 
balls; roll them in egg and crumbs; fry them in hot fat, or brown in the 
oven. 

To Prepare Potatoes for Breakfast. —A nice way to prepare potatoes 
for breakfast is to cut cold boiled ones in square pieces, and dip them in 
beaten egg, and put them on a buttered pie-plate in the oven; when they are 
hot and brown send them to the table. 

Green Corn Pudding. —Take twelve ears of sweet corn, gi'ated, one 
and one-half pints of milk, four well-beaten eggs, and one and-half teacups 
of sugar. Mix the above. Bake it for two hours in a buttered dish. * 

Cauliflower Omelet. —Take the white part of a boiled cauliflower; after 
it is cold chop it very small and mix with it a sufficient quantity of well- 
beaten egg to make a very thick batter. 

Tomato Toast. —Prepare the tomatoes as for sauce, and while they are 
cooking toast some slices of bread very brown, but not burned; butter them 
on both sides, and pour the tomato sauce over them. 

Tomatoes Pried.—Do not pare them, cut in slices; dip in pounded 
crackers sifted. Fry in butter. 


Salads and Relishes. 

Fine Cucumber Pickles. —Make a brine that will bear an egg, and 
drop in the cucumbers; cover them with grape leaves; weight them down, 
and let them stand ten or more days. Then take them out, drain well, and 
soak a day or two in plenty of clear water, frequently changed. Afterward 
put them in a kettle with grape and cabbage leaves and a lump of alum. 
Cover with weak vinegar, and let them stand until they turn green. Then 
take out, drain, and put into stone jars. For each three gallons of pickles 
use one gallon of cider vinegar, and place into it one ounce each of mace and 
celery seed, two ounces of ginger, three ounces each of cloves and stick cin¬ 
namon, four ounces each of mustard seed (black and white mixed), choico 
black pepper and allspice, two tablespoonfuls of ground mustard, a handful 
of chopped horseradish, two pods of red pepper, four onions, and two pounds 
of sugar. Boil, and pour it hot over the pickles. More sugar can be added 
to suit the taste. Cover the jar very closely, and expose to the sun every 
day during hot weather. 

Egg Pickle. —Obtain a moderate-sized, wide-mouthed earthen jar, 
sufficient to hold one dozen eggs; let the latter be boiled quite hard; when 
fiiilj done, place the same, after taking them up, into a pan of cold water. 
Remove the shells from them, and deposit them carefully in the jar. Have 
on the fire a quart (or more, if necessary) of good white wine vinegar, into 
which introduce ono ounce of raw ginger, two or three blades of sweet mace, 
one ounce of allspice, half an ounce of whole black pepper and salt, and half 
an ounce of mustard seed, with four cloves of garlic. When it has simmered 
for half an hour, take it up and pour the contents into the jar, taking care to 
observe that the eggs are wholly covered. When quite cold, stopper it down 
for use. It will be ready after a month. When cut into quarters they servo 
as a garnish, and afford a nice relish to cold meat of any kind, 



302 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Delicious Beet Salad —Boil some Bermuda beets and set them on ice 
to get thoroughly cold. If they are large they will take many hours of boil¬ 
ing, and must be cooked neither too long nor too quickly—in either case 
they will be tough and hard. Cut them up in small, not too thick, slices, 
add some nicely-sliced cold potatoes, and a shred or two of onion—just 
enough to flavor the salad. Now dress it Avith plain French dressing of 
much oil, a little vinegar, salt and pepper. Arrange it in your salad dish, 
and having chopped finely a hard-boiled egg, arrange it over the salad, 
leaving a rim of almost an inch and a half uncovered. On this rim arrange 
sprigs of the small Avatercress. With the deep red of the beets showing 
through the delicate green of the cress and the Avhite and yellow of the egg, 
the salad looks beautifully, and it tastes so deliciously that it can never go 
begging. The Bermuda beets must be used, as they are the SAveetest and 
richest. Some people add a little raw sliced apple—the fruit mustjbe tart 
and soft. 

Celery Salad. —Take three b\mches of celery, chop tino in a chopping 
bowl, sprinkle over it salt and a little pepper, then beat up one egg in a 
saucepan, add half teacup of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, and four 
tablespoonfuls of salad dressing; stir it altogether and Avhen it comes to a 
boil put in the celery and let it all boil for about five minutes, stirring con¬ 
stantly, then put it into a dish and have an egg boiled hard, Avhich cut in 
slices and lay ovnr the top; garnish around the edge with the tops of the 
celery. It is best Avlien cold. I make chicken salad the same Avay, by taking 
as much chicken as celery, and a little more vinegar and salad. 

Potato Salad. —To one pint maslied potatoes (those left over from din¬ 
ner are just right), add the smoothly-rubbed yelks of three hard-boiled eggs, 
reserving the Avhites cut in transverse slices to garnish the dish; slice one 
cucumber pickle, ouo teaspoonful ground mqstard, pepper and salt to taste; 
heat one teacup good vinegar, dissolving in it a lump of butter the size of a 
walnut; pour the Aunegar over the pickle and seasoning, and add the mashed 
potatoes by degrees, rubbing and incorporating thoroughly. We think you 
will find it an agreeable addition to the table. 

Chicken Salad. —Cut the meat from tAVO chickens, or one if you want a 
small dish. Add an equal quantity of shred lettuce, after you have cut the 
chickens into narroAV shreds tAvo inches long. Mix in a boAvl. Prepare a 
dressing thus: Beat the yelks of tAvo eggs, salt lightly and beat in, a feAv 
drops at a time, four tablespoonfuls of oil; then, as gradually, three tea¬ 
spoonfuls of hot vinegar and half a teaspoonful of best celery essence. The 
mixture should be thick as cream; pour over the chicken, mix well and 
lightly, put into a salad dish and lay sections of tAvo hard-boiled eggs on 
top, Avith a chain of sliced Avhites around the edge. 

Pickled Cauliflower. —Take half a dozen small heads of caulifloAver 
and break them into sprigs; then boil them in enough salt and water to 
cover them; let them scald until a sprig from the broom can be run through 
them, or a fork Avill pierce them easily; then skim out into jars and make a 
pickle of one gallon of vinegar, half a pound of broAvn sugar, one ounce of 
unground pepper, half an ounce of cloves, one ounce of AA r hite mustard seed, 
one ounce of celery seed and one ounce of turmeric; boil all together for 
tAventy minutes, and pour Avliile very hot over the cauliflower; cover closely 
and it 'will keep all winter. 


CO 0 K INC R E Cl PER. 


303 


Tomato Catsup— Cut one peek of ripe tomatoes in halves, boil them in 
a lined saucepan until the pulp is all dissolved, then strain them well 
through a hair sieve and set the liquor on to boil, adding one ounce of salt, 
one ounce of mace, one tablespoonful of black pepper, one teaspoonful of 
led pepper, one tablespoonful of ground cloves, five of ground mustard; let 
them all boil together for five or six hours, and stir them most of the time. 
Let the mixture stand eight or ten hours in a cool place, and add one pint of 
vinegar, and then bottle it; seal the corks and keep in a cool, dark place. 

How to Dress Salad. —Take one-lialf a lemon and rub the insido of the 
salad bowl. Hub the yelks of two hard-boiled eggs, mashing them with a 
wooden spoon smooth; mix with them a tablespoonful of water and two 
tablespoonfuls of sweet oil. Add by slow degrees a saltspoonful of salt, a 
teaspoonful of mustard and a teaspoonful of powdered sugar. When these 
are all blended evenly pour in three tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Have your 
lettuce quite fresh and crisp, and picked over nicely; place in the salad 
bowl; do not stir it around, as that would cause it to wilt. Decorate the top 
of it with boiled red beet, cut in different forms, and the hard boiled whites 
of your eggs. 

Asparagus Pickled —Cut and wash the green heads of the largest 
asparagus; let them lie two or three hours in cold water; scald them very 
carefully in salt and water, then lay them on a cloth to cool; make a pickle 
according to the quantity of your asparagus, of white wine vinegar and salt, 
and boil it. To a gallon of pickle put two nutmegs, a quarter of an ounce of 
mace, the same of whole white pepper, and pour the pickle hot over them; 
cover the jar with a thick cloth, and let it stand a week, then boil the pickle; 
when it has stood another week, boil it a third time, and when cold cover 
the jar close. 

Lobster Salad. —Eight eggs, one pint vinegar, four tablespoonfuls 
melted butter or sweet oil, one tablespoonful mixed mustard, one table¬ 
spoonful salt, one teaspoonful black pepper; mix altogether, put it over the 
fire to cook. Do not let it boil, it will thicken when done; stir constantly. 
Chop the lobster not fine, and lettuce the same, mix, but not till about time 
lor eating. Add as much of the dressing as seems necessary to make the 
salad creamy, and then spread a little over the whole. The dressing w'ill 
keep bottled a long time. It is nice with any meats. 

Cauliflower Salad. —Boil a cauliflower in salted Avater till tender, but 
not overdone; when cool, cut it up neatly in small sprigs. Beat up together 
three tablespoonfuls of oil, and one tablespoonful of Tarragon vinegar, with 
pepper and salt to taste; rub the dish very slightly with garlic, arrange the 
pieces of cauliflow'er in it, strew over them some capers, a little Tarragon, 
chervil, and parsley all finely minced, and the least bit of dried thyme and 
marjoram powdered. Pour the oil and vinegar over, and serve. 

Tomato Salad. —Tomato salad is an agreeable entree, and goes well 
with almost any dinner, but particulai'ly well with fried or roast meats. To 
half a dozen medium-sized tomatoes, with the skins removed and the toma¬ 
toes sliced, add the yelks of two hard-boiled eggs, also one raw egg, well 
beaten and mixed with a tablespoonful of melted butter, a teaspoonful of 
sugar, Avith cayenne pepper and salt to suit the taste. When all these are 
mixed thoroughly, add half a small cup of vinegar. 


304 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Herring Salad. —Soak two herrings over night; boil two quarts of po¬ 
tatoes with the skins on; when cold, peel and cut in dice; bone and skin the 
herrings and cut in dice; chop a large onion tine; mix all together Avith pep- 
per and vinegar, enough to moisten. To be eaten Avith cream poured OA r er. 
Serve on a large, flat dish, and garnish Avith hard-boiled eggs and beets cut 
in slices. (This is the Swedish Avay.) 

Cabbage Salad. —One pint of good A'iuegar, four well-beaten eggs, halt 
a cup of butter; put them on the fire, and stir constantly until the mixture 
begins to thicken; then add a tablespoonful of made mustard, tAvo of salt, 
and one of black pepper; chop one head of cabbage A r ery fine, Avith one bunch 
of celery, and soak in salt and Avater for two hours; drain and pour the 
dressing over it, and mix it. It Avill keep all winter in a cool place, if kept 
Avell covered. By mixing lobster or chicken with it, you Avill have a nice 
salad. 

Something Nice. —Take the seeds out of green tomatoes, and cut the 
tomatoes in fine strips Avith scissors until you have six pounds of them. 
Add four or five good-sized bell peppers, green, after taking out the seeds 
and cutting fine. Add also tAvo and a half pounds of Avhite sugar and one 
quart of cider A r inegar, a half ounce of cloves, and a small quantity of mace. 
Cook all about an hour, and you Avill have nice spiced tomatoes. 

Sweet Cucumber Pickles*—Take ripe cucumbers, cut out the inside, 
pare, and slice in squares an inch or tAvo long and one wide, as you fancy. 
Take seven pounds of this, boil in salt water until tender, then drain. In 
a porcelain kettle put one quart of vinegar, three pounds of sugar, one 
ounce cassia buds, one of cloA r es, one-half allspice. Boil together, then add 
the cucumber, and simmer all tAvo hours. 

German Sulsxl —Take six medium-sized cold potatoes, and slice thin, 
three good-sized SAveet apples, also cut in small slices, four silver skinned 
onions chopped fine, and a little parsley cut in bits; dress these Avith tA\'o 
tablespoonfuls of oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and a little mustard and vinegar 
to blond the whole; beat it A 7 cry light, and stir through the salad; garnish 
AA 7 ith hard-boiled eggs cut in rings. 

Carrot Salad. —Wash and scrape tender, rich-colored carrots; throw 
them iuto fast-boiling water, and boil until soft; cut them into very thin 
slices; put them into a glass boAvl, and sprinkle Avith sifted loaf sugar; add 
the juice of a largo lemon, and a Avineglassful of olive oil; garnish the dish 
Avith \ r ery thin slices of lemon, and any kind of green salad leaves. 

Pickled Onloni. —Peel small silver butter onions and tliroAV them into 
a stew pan of boiling Avater; as soon as they look clear take them out Avith a 
strainer-ladle, place them on a folded cloth covered with another, and Avheu 
quite dry put them into a jar and cover them Avith hot spiced vinegar. When 
quite cold pack them down and cover Avith a tight cover. 

Winter Salad —Chop very fine some nice cabbage Avith a little onion 
and celery; salt and pepper to taste; take the yelk of an egg and stir with a 
fork, and drop one drop at a time into some salad oil until the egg is quite 
thick; add four tablespoonfuls strong vinegar, one tablespoonful mustard. 
You must stir the egg very quickly Avhilo putting the oil and vinegar in. 
This is very nice A\ r hen made right. 


305 


COOKING RECIPES. 

Ham Salad —Take your fragment of cold boiled ham left after slicing, 
remove all dark and dry portions, also all the fat; mince evenly and fine; 
take enough rich, sweet cream to set the mince, a saltspoonful of strong, 
ground mustard, the same of fine sugar, and a good pinch of cayenne pep¬ 
per; mix thoroughly with the ham; garnish with sprigs of parsley, and you 
have a nice dish for tea. 

French Mustard.—Slice up an onion in a howl; cover with good vine¬ 
gar; leave two or three days; pour off vinegar into a basin; put into it one 
teaspoonful pepper, one of salt, one tablespoonful brown sugar, and mus¬ 
tard enough to thicken; smooth the mustard for vinegar as you would flour 
for gravy; mix all together; set on the stove and stir until it boils, when re¬ 
move, and use it cold. 

Spiced Apples. —Eight pounds of apples, pared and quartered; four 
pounds of sugar; one quart of vinegar, one ouuce of thick cinnamon, one- 
lialf ounce cloves; boil the vinegar, sugar, and spice together; put in the 
apples while boiling, and let them remain until tender (about twenty min¬ 
utes); then put the apples in a jar; boil down the syrup until thick, and 
pour over them. 

To Pickle Red Cabbages. —Slice them into a sieve, and sprinkle each 
layer with salt. Let the whole drain three days; then add some sliced beet¬ 
root, and place the whole in a jar, over which pour boiling vinegar. The 
purple-red cabbage is the finest. Mace, bruised ginger, whole pepper, and 
cloves may be boiled with the vinegar, and will make a great improve¬ 
ment. 

Cucumber Catsup. —Grate three dozen large cucumbers and twelve 
white onions; put three handfuls of salt over them. They must be prepared 
the day beforehand, and in the morning lay them to drain; soak a cup and a 
half of mustard seed, drain it and add to the cucumbers, with two spoonfuls 
of whole pepper; put them in ajar, cover with vinegar, and cork tight; keep 
in a dry place. 

Salad Dessert. —Boil and mash a white potato, add the yelks of two 
hard-boiled eggs. While the potato is warm, beat all smoothly together, 
add melted butter or oil-prepared mustard, salt and vinegar to taste. The 
potato increases the quantity of dressing, and cannot be distinguished from 
eggs. 

Pickled Oysters.—Select the largest oysters, drain off their liquor, and 
wash them in clear water; put them in a stew-pan with water proportioned 
to the number of oysters, some salt, blades of mace, and whole black pep¬ 
per. Stew them a few minutes, then put them in a pot, and when cold, add 
as much pale vinegar as will give the liquor an agreeable acid. 

Clover Vinegar. —Put a large bowl of molasses in a crock and pour 
over it nine bowls of boiling rainwater; let it stand until milk warm, put in 
two quarts of clover blossoms, and two cups of bakers’ yeast; let it stand 
two weeks, and strain through a towel. Nothing will mold in it. 

Salad Dressing—Six tablespoonfuls of melted butter, six tablespoon- 
luls of cream, one teaspoonful of salt, half teaspeonful of pepper, one tea- 
spoonful of ground mustard, one cup of vinegar; then add three eggs beaten 
to a foam, remove from the tire and stir. 





306 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Fruit Salad. —A new dish with which epicures tempt fate and give an 
impetus to stomach anodynes is composed of sliced oranges, sliced pine¬ 
apples, sliced bananas, sliced hard-boiled eggs, sliced cucumbers, vinegar 
and sugar. It is called a fruit salad. 

Sweet Pickles. —Talse eight pounds of green tomatoes and chop fine; 
add four pounds of brown sugar, and boil down three hours; add one quart 
of vinegar, a teaspoonful each of mace, cinnamon, and cloves, and boil about 
fifteen minutes. Let it cool, and put into jars or other vessel. 

Chili Sauce. —Twelve ripe tomatoes, pared, two large peppers chopped 
fine, one large onion chopped fine, two teacups of vinegar, one tablespoon- 
ful salt, one cup brown sugar, one teaspoonful each of allspice, nutmeg, 
cloves, and ginger. Boil all together. 

Currant Catsup. —To five pints of strained currants add three pounds 
of sugar, one pint of vinegar, and a tablespoonful of cinnamon, one of pep¬ 
per, one of cloves, one of allspice, one-half of salt; scald them well three- 
quarters of an hour; then put it in bottles and cork tight. 

Grape Catsup —Five pounds of grapes; boil and press through colan¬ 
der; two and a half pounds of sugar, one pint of vinegar, one tablespoonful 
each of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and cayenne pepper, and half a table- 
spoonful of salt. Boil until the catsup is rather thick. 

Preserved Tomatoes.—A pound of sugar to a pound of tomatoes. 
Take six pounds of each, the peel and juice of four lemons, and a quarter of 
a pound of ginger tied up in a bag. Boil very slowly for three hours. 

Spiced Currants. —Three pounds of sugar to seven pounds of currants, 
one teaspoonful of cinnamon, one of cloves, one of allspice, pepper if desired. 
Boil half an hour, stirring enough to prevent burning. Spiced currants are 
especially good with meat. 

Tomato Butter. —Sixteen pounds nice tomatoes, one quart vinegar, 
eight pounds sugar. Boil all together until thick. When half done add two 
large spoonfuls of cinnamon, one of ground mace, and a teaspoonful of 
cloves or allspice. 

Hot Slaw. —Shave the cabbage fine; put it on with just water enough to 
cook it; when it is done put a little milk in, salt and pepper; then rub a 
little flour in some butter and stir in. An egg may be stirred in in place of 
the flour. 

Cucumber Salad —Peel and slice cucumbers, mix them with salt, and 
let them stand half an hour; mix two tablespoonfuls salad oil and the same 
quantity of vinegar, and a tablespoonful of sugar and one of pepper for the 
di*essing. 


Bread and Rolls. 

Eiglit, Points in Bread-making— 1 . Good wheat flour. Some va¬ 
rieties of wheat, such as are deficient in gluten, will not make good flour. 

2. A good miller to grind the wheat. The bread-maker should be cure 
to find the good miller. 

3. The wheat should not be ground when very dry. Choose a 
spell ” for the grinding. 


‘ ‘ vet 



00 0 KIN a RECIPES. 


307 


4. The flour should he sifted before using, to separate the particles. 

5. Good yeast. This made from new hops. Stale hops will not, with 
certainty, make lively yeast. 

6. Thorough kneading. After it has had enough, knead it a Avhile longer. 

7. Do not let the dough rise too much. Nine out of every ten bread¬ 
makers in this country let their bread “ rise” until its sweetness has been 
destroyed. 

8. The oven can be too hot as well as too cool. The “ happy medium” 
must be determined and selected. 

There are three kinds of bread, viz.: Sweet Bread, Bread and Sour 
Bread. Some housewives make sour bread, a great many make bread, but 
few make sweet bread. “ Sweetness ” in bi’ead is a positive quality that not 
many bread-makers have yet discovered. 

To Make Graham Bread. —Set the sponge to rise over night, using 
milk instead of water, and adding for every three quarts of flour a cup of 
molasses. In the morning, add a little salt and enough of flour to make a 
dough just thick enough not to be molded. Put in baking-tins to rise, and 
when light bake in a moderate oven. Do not mold at all. Bye bread and 
graham bread should be made soft; molding spoils the bread, making it 
hard, dry, and chippy. 

To Keep Bread Moist. —Have the dough stiff when it is set for the last 
rising. The larger the proportion of flour to that of moisture in the dough 
the longer it will keep moist. After the bread is baked and cold, put it in a 
tin box or an earthen jar with close cover, and keep it covered tightly. 
Bread thus made, and kept cool, and always from the air, will last and be 
moist for a week. 

Home-Made Crackers —Beat two eggs very lightly, whites and yelks 
j together; sift into them a quart of flour, a teaspoonful of salt; add a table- 
; spoonful each of butter and lard, and nearly a tumblerful of milk; work all 
* thoroughly together; take a fourth of the dough at a time and roll out half 
| as thick as a milk cracker, cut in small rounds, and bake quickly to a light 
brown. 

Rice Bread —Rice bread makes a pleasing variety at the breakfast 
I. table. Take one pint of well-cooked rice, half a pint of flour, the yelks of 
four eggs, two tablespoonfuls of butter melted, one pint of milk and half a 
| teaspoonful of salt; beat these all together, then, lastly, add the whites of 
I the four eggs, which you have beaten to a stiff froth. Bake in shallow pans 
L or in gem tins. Serve warm. 

Soittliern Batter-Bread or Egg-Bread. —Two cups white Indian 
meal, one cup cold boiled rice, three eggs well beaten, one tablespoonful 
melted butter, two and a half cups milk, or enough for soft batter, one tea¬ 
ls i spoonful salt, a pinch of soda. Stir the beaten eggs into the milk, the meal, 
t salt, butter, last of all the rice. Beat Avell- three minutes, and bake quickly 
s in a shalloAV pan. 

Indian Bread. —One pint of SAveet milk, tAVO tablespoonfuls of molasses, 
i'a little salt, one yeast cake, and for every cup of wheat flour put in tAvo of 
I Indian meal until as thick as pound cake. Turn into Avell-buttered tins and 
S set in a Avarm place to rise over night. Then set in a slow oven to bake 
i about three-fourths of an hour. 


308 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Squash Biscuit—One pint of strained squash, one half cup of yeast, 
one small cup of sugar, and a piece ot butter the size oi an egg; beat the 
squash, butter and sugar thoroughly, add yeast and beat again, add flour 
till quite stiff to stir with a spoon, let it stand over night, in the morning put 
in gem pans, or make into biscuit, let rise and bake; these should be eaten 
while hot. 

Brown Bread —One pint cornmeal, pour over it one pint boiling water, 
teacup molasses, shorts or graham flour enough to make a stiff' batter, two 
eggs, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a little boiling water; steam three 
hours by putting in a pan in a steamer over a pot of hot water; keep the 
water boiling all the time. 

Bread Cheesecakes. —Slice a penny loaf as thin as possible, pour on it 
a pint of boiling cream. When well soaked, beat it very tine, add eight eggs, 
half a pound of butter, a grated nutmeg, half a pound of currants, a spoon¬ 
ful of brandy or white wine. Beat them up well together, and bake in raised 
crusts or patty pans. 

Graham Gems.—Take cold water and make a batter of graham flour, a 
trifle thicker than for griddle cakes; salt a little if you like; bake in iron gem 
pans; the pans should be well heated before the batter is put in; bake in a 
very hot oven about twenty minutes. It will improve them to use part 
sweet milk, though they are good without. 

Oatmeal Crackers. —One teacup of oatmeal, and water enough to make 
a dough; mix well and quick; if it will bear to be rolled out with the rolling 
pin, roll it; keep at it in the same way until it is one-quarter of an inch 
thick; do it very quickly or it will dry; make only dough enough at onetime 
for one cracker; do not brown in baking. 

Rosettes. —Beat the yelks of three eggs very light until they thicken. 
Add one quart of milk and one tablespoonful of melted butter and a tea- 
spoonful of salt. Mix three teaspoonfuls of baking powder with three cups 
of flour, and add to the milk and eggs. When all the lumps are beaten out 
add the whites of the eggs whipped to a stiff froth. Bake immediately in 
muffin pans in a quick oven. 

French Rolls. —One pint milk, small cup yeast, and flour enough to 
make a stiff batter; let them rise well, add one egg, one tablespoonful batter, 
and flour enough to make it stiff enough to roll; knead well and let it rise; 
then knead again, roll out, cut with round tin, put in a pan and let them rise 
until very light; bake quickly and you will have delicious rolls. Mix in the 
morning and have them for tea. 

Tea. Rolls. —One pint of milk, one quart of flour, two tablespoonfuls of 
butter or butter and lard, one-half Vienna yeast cake. This makes the 
sponge. Let it raise, salt it, dissolve a very small quantity of soda, and put 
into the sponge. Mix it with a quart of flour and let it raise again, then cut 
out and put in pans, to raise very light before putting into the oven. 

Scotch Shortbread. —Bub together into a stiff short paste two pounds, 
of flour, one pound of butter, and six ounces of loaf sugar. Make it into 
square cakes about a half-inch thick, pinch them all along the edge at the 
top, dock over the whole surface of the cake, put them on tins so as to touch 
each other by their edges, and bake in a moderate oven. 


309 


COOKING RECIPES. 

French Toast-Beat four eggs very light, and stir with them one pint 
of milk; slice some nice white bread, dip the pieces into the egg and milk, 
then lay them into a pan of hot butter and fry brown. Sprinkle a little pow¬ 
dered sugar and cinnamon or nutmeg on each piece, and serve hot. 

German Cream Biscuits. —Take four ouuces of butter, six ounces of 
powdered loaf sugar, seven ouuces of flour, one tablespoonful of fresh cream, 
and one egg. Make the above into a dough, beating it well; then roll it out 
very thin, cutting it into square pieces two inches long and one broad. Bake 
in a quick oven, and when done they should be a light yellow brown. 

Graham Biscuits— Three cups graham flour, one cup white do., three 
cups of milk, two tablespoonfuls of lard or butter, one heaping large spoon¬ 
ful of white sugar, one saltspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of soda, two tea¬ 
spoonfuls cream of tartar; mix and bake as ordinary soda biscuit. They are 
good cold. 

Oatmeal Gems.- One beaten egg, one cup of sweet milk, one cup of 
cold oatmeal pudding, beat all together, add half a teaspoonful of soda, and 
one and one-half cups of flour. This quantity will fill the gem pan. Does 
not hurt some dyspeptics. 

Breakfast Rolls Without Soda. —Two eggs, one and a half cups of 
milk, a teaspoonful of salt, and flour enough to make a thick batter. These 
must be baked in an iron gem pan, or they will be a complete failure. A 
quick oven is desirable. 

Dyspepsia Bread. —One pint bowl of graham flour; dissolve one-half a 
teaspoonful of soda in two-thirds of a cup of yeast and add to the mixture 
one teacup of molasses; pour in sufficient warm water to make it somewhat 
thinner than flour bread. 

Oatmeal Wafers. —Oatmeal wafers are relished by babies and older 

children, too. Take a pint of oatmeal and a pint of water, with almost a 

teaspoonful of salt; mix and spread on buttered pans; make it just as thin 

as it is possible and yet have the bottom of the pan covered; bake slowly. 

• 

Oatmeal Biscuit. —Take half a pound medium oatmeal, quarter of a 
pound flour, one dessertspoonful of baking powder; mix with two ounces 
butter and half a gill of milk, made hot in a saucepan. Roll out quickly, 
and bake in very thin cakes. 

Bight Rolls. —Boil four potatoes; mash them and put into a pint of 
boiled milk, two tablespoonfuls of butter melted in the milk; flour enough 
to make a stiff batter; half a pint of yeast, one teaspoonful of salt. 

Graham Wafers —Put a pinch of salt into one-half pound of graham 
flour; wet it with one-half pint of sweet cream; mix quickly and thoroughly; 
roll out as thin as possible, and cut in strips; prick and bake in a quick oven. 

Good Brown Bread— Four cups of cornmeal, three of rye, one of 
molasses, one large teaspoonful of soda dissolved in warm water. Mix very 
thin, steam three hours, and bake half an hour. Try it. 

Railroad Yeast —One tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of soda, 
one pint of boiling water; thicken with coarse flour or middlings, let it rise, 
and set in a cool place. Use a teaspoonful t > a baking ot salt-rising bread. 





310 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


llice Biscuits. —Tako half a pound of sugar, half a pound of the best 
ground rice, half a pound of butter, and half a pound of flour, and mix the 
whole into a paste with eggs (two are sufficient for this quantity). 

Indian. Meal Puffi. —In one quart of boiling milk stir eight tablespoon¬ 
fuls of meal, four spoonfuls of sugar; boil five minutes, stirring all the time; 
when cool add six beaten eggs; pour in buttered cups; bake half an hour. 

Steamed Brown Bread. —One quart of Indian meal, one pint of rye 
flour; stir these together and add one quart of sweet milk, one cup of mo¬ 
lasses, two teaspoonfuls of soda, and a little salt. Steam for four hours. 

Tea Puff.. —Two and one-quarter cups flour, three cups milk, three eggs 

—whites and yelks beaten separately; three teaspoonfuls of melted butter, 

a little salt. Bake in muffin tins in a hot oven. 

# 

Block Biscuits.—Half a pound of butter beaten up to a cream, half a 
pound of ground rice, three-quarters of a pound of flour, half a pound of 
loaf sugar, four egga, and a little sal volatile. 

Old Maid Bread. —One quart of flour, two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of 
lard, one teaspoonful of salt, one teacup of veast, one cup of milk; make up 
in a soft dough; reserve one-third of the flour for second rising. 

Bice Biscuits. —Sift seven ounces of sugar; then add to it half a pound 
of the best ground rice, seven ounces of butter, seven ounces of flour, and 
mix it into a paste with eggs—two are sufficient for this quantity. 

Ginger Biscuits. —One pound of flour, half a pound of fresh butter, half 
a pound of powdered lump sugar, three-quarters of an ounce of ground 
ginger, two eggs. Bako five minutes in a quick oven. 

Indian Bread. —Two cups of Indian meal, one-half cup each of rye 
meal and wheat flour, two thirds of a cup of molasses, one pint of sour or 
buttermilk, one teaspoonful of saleratus or cooking-soda, one teaspoonful 
of salt. 

Egg Sandwiches. —Boil fresh eggs five minutes; put them in cold 
water, and when quite cold peel them; then, after taking a little white off 
each end of the eggs, cut the remainder in four slices. Lay them between 
bread and butter. 

Corn Gems—Two cups cornmeal, two cups flour, two cups sweet milk, 
two eggs, three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, one-half cup butter, 
one-half cup sugar; bake in gem pans. 

Improving Bread —If, when bread is taken from the oven, the loaves 
are turned topside down in the hot tins, and are allowed- to stand a few min¬ 
utes the crust will be tender and will cut easily. 

Tea Rusks —Three cups of flour, one cup of milk, three-fourths of a 
cup of sugar, two heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, melted, two eggs, three 
teaspoonfuls of baking-powder. 

•Tollliny Cake —Take one pint of milk, one pint of meal, three tabie- 
spoonfuls of flour, two tablespoonfuls sugar, one tablespoonful butter and 
one egg. 


C 0 0 KIN 0 IIE C IP E s . 


311 


Tea Biscuits. —Two pounds of flour, two ounces of butter, one cup of 
milk, one or two eggs, half a cup of sugar, one cup of yeast; set at night, 
bake in the morning. 

Cottage Bread. —One quart of flour, one large spoonful of sugar, one of 
butter, one egg, one teacup of yeast; put to rise, and bake as biscuits. 


Jellies and Preserves. 

To Preserve Pine-Apples in Slices. —This can be made with the West 
Indian pines. Choose ripe but sound ones, and cut them into slices about 
one inch thick, and cut off the rind. Weigh the slices, and to every two 
pounds of fruit put one pound and three-quarters of white sifted sugar. 
Boil them together in a preserving pan for half an hour, and, if the slices are 
then tender, take them out carefully with a wooden spoon and place them 
upon a deep dish, boil the syrup for a short time longer, and then pour it 
over the slices of pine-apple. This process must be repeated for three suc¬ 
cessive days, after which the preserves may be put into jars and covered. 

Russian Jelly for Invalids —Instead of throwing away the peel and 
core of apples from making a pie or pudding, put them in a jar and pour 
over them a pint of hot water; put the jar by the fire or in the oven until the 
water tastes strongly of the apples; strain the apple-water off, and throw 
away the peel; then add to the apple-water one tablespoonful of large sago; 
set it to the fire until the sago has absorbed all the w r ater; then put it in a 
mold, and it will be ready for use; to be eaten either hot or cold. A little 
lemon juice added improves the flavor. The proportion of peel and water 
must be according to the quality of the apples, as some are so much sharper 
than others. No decay should be allowed to be in the peel. Rhubarb may 
be used in the same way. The jelly should taste strongly of fruit. This 
jelly is most refreshing in sickness. 

Grape Preserves. —Grapes partly ripe are delicious preserved in the 
following manner: Pick out those that are knotty or wormy; take the rest, a 
few at a time, in a coarse sieve, working them around with the hand until 
the seeds are loosened, when they will drop through, leaving the skins and 
pulp in the sieve. Drain the juice off the seeds, and to every pound of pulp, 
skin, and juice, allow half a pound of white sugar. Put all into the preserv¬ 
ing kettle and cook slowly about three-quarters of an hour. Put hot into 
jars, a brandy paper on top, and seal up. 

Frosted Currants. —Currants, white of egg, cold water, pulverized 
sugar. Pick fine, even bunches, and dip them one at a time into a mixture 
of frothed w hite of egg and a very little cold Avater; drain them until nearly 
dry, and dip them in pulverized sugar; repeat the dip in sugar once or 
twice, and lay them upon white paper to dry. They will make a beautiful 
garnish for jellies and charlottes, and look well heaped in a dish by them¬ 
selves or with other fruit. Plums and grapes are very nice frosted in the 
same manner. Currants mixed with a sufficient quantity or raspberries, 
put in a glass bowl and eaten with powdered sugar and plain cream, make 
a very nice dish. 

Chicken Jelly— Cut half of an uncooked chicken into small pieces and 
break the bones; pour over it a quart of cold water, and boil slowly until it 





312 


TIIK HOUSEHOLD. 


is reduced to less than ball; season with salt and a little pepper, if the latter 
is allowed the invalid. Strain through a colander, then through a jellv-bag 
into a mold or bowl. It the chicken is quite tender, boil carefully the breast 
of the other half of it; cut it into dice and put it into the mold or bowl, and 
cover it with the liquid. When the jelly has hardened, scrape off the layer 
of fat at the top of the mold before turning the jelly on a platter. 

Mock Champagne Jelly— Take ono quart of fine cklei’, mix this 
with one pound of loaf sugar or sugar to taste, the juice of four lemons, the 
grated rind of one, and some pieces of stick cinnamon, the whites of two eggs 
well beaten, one box of gelatine; soak the gelatine in a pint of cold water one 
hour, then add a pint ofvboiling water, the cider and other ingredients; stir 
the mixture until the gelatine is well dissolved; then put it on the tire and 
boil five minutes, strain through a jelly-bag into molds, set in a cool place or 
on ice to harden. 

Preserved Cherries. —To ten pounds of cherries allow five pounds of 
sugar; stone the fruit and put in a porcelain kettle in layers with the sugar; 
let it heat slowly until the juice is drawn out, or it may stand in a cool place, 
even over night; when stewed until tender, take the cherries from the syrup 
in a little strainer, and put them in cans placed on a board in boiling water. 
Boil the syrup until thick, then fill the cans and fasten the covers. 

Hints About Making Preserves. —It is not generally known that boil¬ 
ing fruit a long time, and skimming it well, without the sugar and without a 
cover to the preserving pan, is a very economical and excellent way—eco¬ 
nomical, because the bulk of the scum rises from the fruit, and not from the 
sugar, if the latter is good; and boiling it without a cover allows the evapo¬ 
ration of all the watery particles therefrom; the preserves keep firm and are 
Avell fiavored. The proportions are, three-quarters of a pound of sugar to a 
pound of fruit. Jam made in this way, of currants, strawberries, raspber¬ 
ries, or goosoberries, is excellent. 

Lemon Syrup. —Take a dozen lemons; slice them thin; take ten pounds 
best white sugar; place a layer of sugar and one of lemons in an earthen 
jar; let them remain over night, then pour as much water over them as will 
make a syrup; place the jar in a kettle of water, and let them simmer but 
nLt boil; strain and bottle, and you will have a delicious flavoring when 
lemons are expensive. Lemonade can be made from it by using a few 
spoonfuls in water. The lemons can be placed on a plate after they are < 
strained from the syrup and used in preserves for flavoring. 

Apple Jelly— Make a syrup of a pound of sugar, putting insufficient 
water to dissolve it; when boiled enough, lay it in the peeled and cored 
halves of some large sour apples, let them simmer till tender, then lay them 
carefully in a dish so that they will remain unbroken and in good shape; 
add another pound of sugar to the syrup, let it boil, skim it, and when partly 
c*ol pour it over the apples; when the dish gets cold each dainty piece of 
apple will be surrounded by a delicious jelly; eat them with cream. 

Orange Jelly—One-half box of gelatine soaked in one-half pint of cold 
water for half an hour; then add the juice of five oranges and two lemons 
and one and one-half cups white sugar; turn on one pint of boiling water 
and set the pail containing the ingredients in a kettle of boiling water to 
heat, but do not let it quite boil; then strain into an earthen vessel to cool. 


COO K1 N G R E 01 PE S . 313 

Before bringing to the table cut in squares and place in a glass sauce dish. 
This is much liked, and is very nice for the sick. 

Citron or Watermelon Preserves. —Peel and cut eight pounds of 
rinds, soak twenty-four hours in salt water (three tablespoonfuls in water 
enough to cover), soak again in alum water, three tablespoonfuls of alum as 
above; then soak in fresh water twenty-four hours. Take one ounce white 
ginger root to one and a half gallons water, boil till tender enough to pierce 
with a straw; then to eight pounds of fruit make a syrup of seven pounds of 
sugar, boil till transparent and season with cinnamon; delicious. 

Orange Marmalade. —Take equal weights of sour oranges and sugar. 
Grate the yellow rind from a fourth of the oranges. Cut all the fruit in 
halves at what might be called the “ equator.” Pick out the pulp, and free 
it of seeds. Drain off as much jnice as you conveniently can, and put it on 
to boil with the sugar. Let it come to a boil. Skim and simmer for about 
fifteen miuutes, then put in the pulp and grated rind, and boil fifteen 
minutes longer. 

Uncooked Currant Jelly. —To one pint of currant juice add one pound 
of granulated sugar, stir the juice very slowly into the sugar until the sugar 
is dissolved, then let it stand twenty-four hours and it will be stiff jelly. Tie 
it with paper dipped in brandy, and set it in the sun. Half a bushel of cur¬ 
rants makes twenty-two one-half pint glasses of jelly. 

Calf’s Foot, Jelly. —Take two calves’ feet; add to them one gallon of 
water; boil them down to one quart; strain, and when cold remove all fat; 
then add the whites of six or eight eggs (well beaten), half a pound of sugar 
and the juices of four lemons; mix well. Boil for a minute, constantly stir¬ 
ring; then strain through a flannel bag. 

Raspberry Jam. —To every quart of ripe raspberries, allow a pound of 
the best loaf sugar. Put sugar and berries into a pan, and let them stand 
two or three hours. Then boil them in a porcelain kettle, taking off the 
scum carefully. When no more scum rises, mash them and boil them to 
smooth marmalade. When cold, put them in glass tumblers. 

Peach Butter. —Pare ripe peaches and put them in a preserving kettle, 
with sufficient water to boil them soft; then sift through a colander, re¬ 
moving the stones. To each quart of peach put one and one-half pounds 
sugar, and boil very slowly one hour. Stir often, and do not let them burn. 
Put in stone or glass jars and keep in a cool place. 

Coffee Jelly. —Take one package of Cox’s gelatine and dissolve it in a 
pint of cold water. Let it stand until well dissolved, and then put two tea¬ 
cups of strong hot coffee in a quart cup, fill the measure up with boiling 
water and stir gelatine, coffee and water together with a pint of sugar; after 
stirring let it settle, and pour the mixture through a strainer into molds. To 
be eaten cold with cream and sugar. 

White Currant Jam. —Boil together quickly for seven minutes equal 
quantities of fine white currants carefully picked from their stalks, and of 
the best pounded white sugar passed through a sieve. Stir the preserve 
«gently the whole time, and be careful to skim it thoroughly. Just before it 
is taken from the fire, throw in the strained juice of one good lemon to four 
pounds of the fruit. 





314 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Preserved Citron. —Cut the citron in thin slices, pare off the outside 
rind and take out all the seeds, put in the preserve kettle with water enough 
to cover it; boil till it can be pierced easily with a fork, slum it out and 
strain the water, placing it back in the kettle; allow three-quarters of a 
pound of sugar to a pound of citron; dissolve the sugar in the liquor; cut 
three or four lemons into it and let it boil till it is as thick as required, then 
put in the citron and boil; when it is transparent, then it is done; if boiled 
too long the citron will be tough. 

Plum Marmalade. —Bub the plums, after draining, through a sieve or 
colander to take out the stones and skins. Add half a pound of sugar for 
each pint of pulp, boil slowly, stirring well to prevent burning, until it is a 
smooth thick paste. Excellent marmalade is made by mixing the sifted 
pulp of wild plums and crab apples. 

Gooseberry .Telly. —Boil six pounds of green unripe gooseberries in six 
pints of water (they must be well boiled, but not burst too much); pour 
them into a basin and let them stand covered with a cloth twenty-four hours; 
then strain through a jelly bag, and to every pint of juice add one pound of 
sugar; boil for an hour, then skim it and boil for one-half hour longer. 

Spired Pearlies. —Pai'e, stone, arid halve the fruit; allow nine pounds 
of peaches to four of sugar, and nearly one pint of vinegar; boil the fruit in 
water until tender; then pour off, and add the sugar and vinegar, with a few 
whole cloves, cinnamon and a little mace. Boil half an hour. 

Quince Marmalade. —Pare, core and quarter the quinces; boil them 
gently, uncovered, in water until they begin to soften; then strain them 
through a hair sieve, and beat in a mortar or wooden bowl to a pulp; add 
to each pound of fruit three-q\iarters of a pound of sugar; boil it till it be¬ 
comes stiff, and pour into small molds. 

Blackberry .Telly. —This preparation of the blackberry is more agree¬ 
able than the jam, as the seeds, though very wholesome, are not agreeable 
to all. It is made in the same way as currant jelly; but the fruit is so sweet 
that it only requires half the weight of the juice in sugar. 

.Tellies Without Fruit. —To one pint of water put one-fourth of an 
ounce of alum; boil a minute or two; then add four pounds of white sugar; 
continue the boiling a little; strain while hot; and, when cold, put in half a 
twenty-five cent bottle of extract of vanilla, strawberry, lemon, or any other 
flavor you desire for jelly. 

Crab Apple .Telly. —Cut out the eyes and stalks of the apples; halve 
them and put in a preserving kettle with enough water to prevent burning. 
Cook until soft; then strain through a sieve, and afterward through a muslin 
bag; to every pound of juice allow one aud one-quarter pounds of sugar. 
Boil gently for twenty minutes. 

Lemon Jelly. —Isinglass, two ounces; water, one quart, boil; add 
sugar, one pound, clarify, and, when nearly cold, add the juice of five 
lemons, and the grated yellow rinds of two oranges and two lemons; mix 
well, strain off the peel, and put it into glasses or bottles. 

Blackberry Jam. —To each pound of fruit add three-fourths of a pound 
of sugar; then put together and boil from one-half to three-fourths of an hour. 


COOKING RECIPES. 


315 


. Cnr ** nt ^elly—Fill a jar with currants and place it in a kettle of boil- 

throueli a ^ 18 ^ s ^ 1 tened ’ sti ™S frequently, then strain 

through a cloth, and to every pint add a pound of white sugar. Boil ten 

minutes slamming until quite clear. Black currant or grape jelly can be 
made in the same way. & n j j ue 

m j^f e Core and pare the apples; chop them well; allow equal 

q a tity in weight of apples and sugar; make a syrup of the sugar by adding 
a little water, boiling and skimming well, then throw in a little grated lemon 
peel and a little white ginger. Boil until the fruit looks clear. 


Plum Preserves. Weigh your plums, scald them, put on a dish or 
waiter; be sure to strain; weigh as much sugar as fruit, and to every pound 
add a gill of water; let sugar boil, skim, add scalded fruit, cook two hours 
and a half; put in air-tight jars. 


Pickled Peaches and Plums— To seven pounds fruit, three pounds 
sugar, one quart vinegar, one ounce cloves, one ounce cinnamon. Scald 
vinegar and sugar three mornings in succession, and pour on the fruit. The 
third morning scald altogether. 


Tapioca, .Telly —Wash eight ounces of tapioca well; then soak in one 
gallon fresh water, five or six hours; add the peels of eight lemons, and set 
all on to heat; simmer till clear; add the juice of the eight lemons with wine 
and sugar to taste; then bottle. 

Isinglass Jelly —Put four ounces isinglass and two ounces cloves into 
one gallon water, boil it down to half a gallon; strain it upon four pounds of 
loaf sugar; add, while cooling, a little wine; then bottle. 


Gooseberry Jelly —Sugar, four pounds; water, two pounds; boil to¬ 
gether; it will be nearly solid when cold; to this syrup, add an equal weight 
of gooseberry juice; give it a short boil, cool, then pot it. 


Cranberry Jelly. —Make a very strong isinglass jelly. When cold, mix 
it with a double quantity of cranberry juice. Sweeten and boil it up; then 
strain it into a shape. The sugar must be good loaf, or the jelly will not be 
clear. 


Peacb Marmalade. —Peaches too ripe for preserving answer for mar¬ 
malade. Pare and quarter them, allowing three-quarters of a pound of 
sugar to each pound of fruit, and half a pint of water to each pound of sugar. 
Boil one hour and a half, stirring constantly. 

Gooseberry Jam. —Take what quantity you please of red, rough, ripe 
gooseberries, take half the quantity of lump sugar, break them Avell and boil 
them together for half an hour or more, if necessary. Put into pots and 
cover with paper. 

Pickled Apples— Apple pickles are delicious. Pare and halve the 
apples, removing the cores carefully, to keep them in good shape. Steam 
till soft. Put spiced vinegar over them. 


Puddings, Pies, Etc. 

Apple Fritters. —First pare the apples, and then with an apple-corer 
cut out the core from the center of each; theu cut them across in slices 



316 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


about one-third of an inch thick, having a round opening in the center. 
Next make a fritter batter by the following recipe: Beat three eggs well; 
add a part of one pint of milk and a little salt; then the remainder of the 
pint of milk and one pint of flour alternately, beating it all quickly. The 
slices of apples must now be immediately dipped in this batter and fried in 
boiling lard; sprinkle over with sugar and serve in a circle, one overlapping 
the other, with or without sweet sauce in the center. 

Amber Pudding— Four eggs, their weight in sugar, butter and flour, 
peel of one lemon, and grated rinds of two; beat the butter with your hand 
to a cream, then add the flour, sugar and beaten eggs by degrees, then the 
peel and juice of the lemons; butter a mold, and when all is "well mixed fill 
it quite full; put a buttered white paper over the top and tie well over with 
a cloth, put in a pan of boiling water and boil for about four hours. 

Apple Charlotte. —Take a loaf of stale bread, and butter the slices; 
pare and slice a dozen apples; take a lemon, grate the skin, and save the 
juice; place at the bottom of a stoneware baking dish a layer of apples; scat¬ 
ter brown sugar on it, some of the lemon gratings, and a little juice; then 
put in a layer of the buttered bread; keep on until your dish is full, having 
the crust on top; bake in a moderately hot oven. Do not make it too sweet. 

Apple Pudding. —Peel and quarter enough apples to cover the bottom 
of a deep tin plate; then make a batter of sour milk, soda and flour, with a 
tablespoonful of lard to enough flour to make a batter that will cover the 
apples. This should not be thicker than for pancakes. Pour it over the 
apples and bake till brown. Then, when done, turn it on a large plate with 
the crust down. Over the apples scatter sugar and cinnamon. 

Apple Souffle. —One pint of steamed apples, one tablespoonful of melted 
butter, half a cup of sugar, the white of six eggs and the yelks of three, and 
a slight grating of nutmeg. Stir into the hot apples, the butter, sugar, and 
nutmeg, and the yelks of the eggs well beaten. When this is cold, beat the 
whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and stir into the mixture. Butter a three- 
pint dish, and turn the souffle into it. Bake thirty minutes in a hot oven. 
Serve immediately with any kind of sauce. 

All the Year Mound Pudding —Line a pie-dish with paste, spread on 
three ounces of any kind of jam (raspberry is the best); then beat well in a 
basin the following: Three ounces of bread crumbs, the same of sugar and 
butter, the rind and juice of half a large lemon; add this to the pastry and 
jam, and bake half an hour. 

An Excellent Pudding —One-half pound suet, shred fine; one half 
pound grated bread crumbs; one-quarter pound of loaf sugar, the yelks of 
four eggs and whites of two well beaten; two tablespoonfuls of orange mar¬ 
malade or sliced citron, if preferred. To be put into a butter mold and 
boiled for two hours. To be served with wine poured over it, or sauce. 

Pudding a l’Elegante —Cut thin slices of light white bread, and line a 
pudding-shape with them, putting in alternate layers of the bread and 
orange marmalade, or any other preserve, till the mold is nearly full. Pour 
over all a pint of warm milk, in which four well-beaten eggs have been 
mixed. Cover the mold with a cloth, and boil for an hour and a half. Serve 
with wine sauce. 


COO KIN a RECIPES. 


317 

Delicious Apple Sauce. —Pare and slice thin as many apples as you 

wish. Put them into a tin basin or pudding dish, with enough sugar to 

make them sweet and a little water. Bake slowly until soft. They will 

«• %/ 

turn a rich red, and have a flavor far exceeding stewed apples. 

Apple Dumplings. —Make them the usual way, place them in a deep 
pudding dish; make a liquor of water, sugar, butter, and a little nutmeg; 
the liquor should vei'y nearly cover the dumplings; bake on one side, turn 
them on the other; bake about three-fourths of an hour. 

Albany Puffs. —Beat the yelks of six eggs until they are veiy light; stir 
in a pint of sweet milk, a large pinch of salt, the whites of the eggs beaten to 
a froth, and flour enough to make a batter about as thick as boiled custard. 
Bake in gem pans in a quick oven. 

Apple Custard. —Take a half cup of melted butter, two cups sugar, 
three cups stewed apples, four eggs, whites and yelks separately beaten. 
Bake in pie plates in bottom crust. 

Brown Betty. —Take one cup bread crumbs, two cups chopped sour 
apples, one half cup sugar, one teaspoonful cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls 
butter cut into small bits. Butter a deep dish and put a layer of chopped 
apple at the bottom, spiinkle with sugar, a few bits of butter and cinnamon, 
cover with bread crumbs, then more apple. Proceed in this way until the 
dish is full, having a layer of ci’umbs on top. Cover closely and steam three 
quarters of an hour in a moderate oven, then uncover and brown quickly. 
Eat warm with sugar and cream, or sweet sauce. This is a cheap but good 
pudding, better than many a l’icher one. 

Bread Pudding. —Soak two or three French l'olls cut into slices in a 
pint of cream or good milk; add the yelks of six eggs, beaten, some sugar, 
oi*ange-flower water, three pounded macaroons, and a glass of white wine; 
tie it up in a basin, or buttered cloth; put the pudding in boiling water, and 
let it boil for half an hour. Serve with wine sauce. 

Baked Lemon Pudding. —Mix the following ingi’edients together in 
the order in which they are placed: Moist sugar, one-quarter pound; bread 
crumbs, six ounces; eggs, well beaten, thi’ee; lemon peel grated and juice, 
two; bake one and a half houi-s in a moderate oven. 

Bird’s Nest Pudding. —Pare and coi'e as many apples as will stand in a 
dish, and fill the holes with sugar. Make a custard of a quart of milk, 
eight eggs, and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Pour it over the apples, grate 
a nutmeg over the top, and bake one hour. 

Fried Bananas. —Peel and slice the bananas, sprinkle with salt, dip in 
thin batter, and fry in butter. Serve immediately. 

Cup Plum Pudding. —Take one cup each of raisins, currants, flour, 
bi-ead crumbs, suet, and sugar; stone and cut the raisins, wash and dry the 
currants, chop the suet, and mix all the above ingi’edients well together; 
then add two ounces of candied peel and citron, a little mixed spice, salt, 
and ginger, say half a teaspoonful of each; stir in four well-beaten eggs and 
milk enough to make the mixture so that the spoon will stand upright in it; 
tie it loosely in a cloth, or put it in a mold; plunge it then into boiling xvater, 
and boil for three and a half hours. 





THE HOUSEHOLD. 


318 

Cranberry Sauce.—Wash and pick over the cranberries; put on to cook 
in a tin or porcelain vessel, allowing a teacup of water to each quart. Stew 
slowly, stirring often until they are thick as marmalade. Take from the fire 
in little over an hour, if they have cookod steadily; sweeten plentifully with 
white sugar and strain through a coarse net into a mold ivet with cold water. 
Do this the day before using, and at dinner time turn from the mold into a 
glass dish. 

Chocolate Pudding. —One quart of milk, fourteen even tablespoonfuls 
of grated bread crumbs, twelve tablespoonfuls of grated chocolate, six eggs, 
one tablespoonful vanilla; sugar to make very sweet. Separate the yelks 
and whites of four eggs; beat up the four yelks and two whole eggs together 
very light with the sugar. Put the milk on the range, and when it comes to 
a perfect boil pour it over the bread and chocolate; add the beaten eggs and 
sugar, and vanilla; be sure it is sweet enough; pour into a buttered dish; 
bake one hour in a moderate oven. When cold, and just before it is served, 
have the four Avhites beaten with a little powdered sugar, and flavor with 
vanilla, and use as a meringue. 

Chocolate Cream Custards. —Set to boil a quart of milk; mix with half 
a cup of cold milk two ounces of grated sweet chocolate, pour some of the 
boiling milk into it, and then pour all back into the pan of boiling milk, stir¬ 
ring it all the time; when quite heated and about coming to the boiling point, 
add the yelks of six eggs -which have been beaten with a cup of powdered 
sugar; when these are nicely blended add three whites, beaten "with a little 
vanilla, keeping the three other whites for frosting; putin cups, and a table¬ 
spoonful of the frosting on the top of each cup. 

Cranberry Pudding. —Cranberry pudding is made by pouring boiling 
water on a pint of dried bread crumbs; melt a tablespoonful of butter and 
stir in. When the bread is softened add two eggs, and beat thoroughly with 
the bread. Then put in a pint of the stewed fruit and sweeten to your taste. 
Bake in a hot oven for half an hour. Fresh fruit maybe used in place of the 
cranberries. Slices of peaches put in layers make a delicious variation. 

Coffee Custard. —Mix one egg with a cup of freshly-ground coffee, pour 
on it a pint of boiling water; boil five minutes. Pour it off clear into a sauce¬ 
pan, add a pint of cream and boil. Beat from five to eight eggs with one 
and one half cups of sugar, and pour the boiling mixture over this, stirring 
it well. Set the whole in boiling water, and stir until it thickens. 

Cranberry Roll. —Stew a quart of cranberries in just water enough to 
keep them from burning. Make very sweet, strain and cool. Make a paste, 
and when the cranberry is cold spread it on the paste about an inch thick, 
ltoll it, tie it close in a flannel cloth, boil two hours, and serve with sweet 
sauce. Stewed apples or other fruit may be used in the same way. 

Delicious Fritters. —Put three tablespoonfuls of flour into a bowl, and 
pour over it sufficient hot water to make it into a stiff paste, taking care to 
stir it well to prevent its getting lumpy. Leave it a little time to cool, and 
then break into it, without beating them first, the yelks of four eggs, the 
whites of two, and stir and beat all together. Have your fat or lard hot, and 
drop a dessertspoonful of batter in at a time, and fry a light brown. Serve 
on a hot dish with a spoonful of jam or marmalade dropped in between each 
fritter. 


COOKING KKCIPES. 


319 


Crow’s JVe.t. —Fill a deep pudding tin or disli with apples cut in thin 
slices; sugar and cinnamon, or lemon, to sweeten and flavor to taste, and a 
little water; cover with a thick crust; bake until apples are tender; serve 
hot with bard sauce, or with cream and sugar; be sure to cut ah’ holes in 
the crust to let the steam escape. 

Cream Fritters. —Beat three eggs to a froth, add half a pint of cream, 
the same of milk, a teaspoonful of salt, cne pint flour, two teaspoonfuls bak¬ 
ing powder; stir to a smooth batter; fry in hot lard the same as doughnuts. 
These are good hot or cold. Serve with sweetened cream or maplo 
molasses. 

Cake Pudding. —Take odd bits of cake (if two or three kinds all the 
better), break in small pieces, put them in a pudding dish which has been 
previously buttered, make a rich custard; pour over the cake; bake or 
steam. i|is made still nicer by adding cocoanut frosting, and setting in the 
oven till of a light brown. 

Cocoanut Pudding. —One-half pound of butter, one-half pound of 
sugar, whites of eight eggs whipped to a froth. The white portion of one 
cocoanut grated into minute particles. Grease pan with butter, and bake. 
For this pudding desiccated cocoanut answers as Avell as fresh cocoanut. 

Custard Pudding. —Take a pint of cream, six eggs well beaten, two 
spoonfuls of flour; half a nutmeg grated, and salt and sugar to taste; mix 
them together; butter a cloth and pour in the batter; tie it up, put it into a 
saucepan of boiling water, and boil it an hour and a half. Serve with 
melted butter. 

Cream Batter Pudding. —Half pint sour cream, half pint sweet milk, 
half pint flour, three eggs, half teaspoonful soda, a little salt.. Beat eggs 
separately, adding the yelks last. Bake in a slow oven, and you will rind 
I this the queen of puddings. 

Egg Pudding. —Take any number of eggs, their weight in flour, brown 
sugar and butter, and a few currants or chopped raisins, as preferred. Mix 
well together by means of the eggs. Bake in buttered molds; serve hot, 
with wine sauce. 

Cracker Pudding. —Pour one quart boiling water over six soft crackers, 
fet stand until very soft; add three or four eggs, one cup raisins, one-fourth 
spoonful salt, sweeten, flavor or spice, bake. Very nice. 

Citron Pudding. —Mix one quart of cream with three spoonfuls of 
sugar, one-half pound of flour, one-half pound of citron peel, yelks of six 
eggs and a little nutmeg. Bake in teacups in a quick oven. 

Cottage Pudding. —One cup of sugar, one cup of sweet milk, one pint 
of flour, two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one teaspoonful of soda, two 
teaspoonfuls of cream tartar, one egg. 

Cracked Wheat Pudding —Cracked wheat mixed with milk in the 
proportion of half a cup to a quart, and flavored with cinnamon and a raisin 
or two, makes a very good pudding. 

Cream Custard —Eight eggs, beat and put into two quarts of cream; 
sweeten to taste; add nutmeg and cinnamon. 



320 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Date or Prime Pudding. —Take a quart of milk, beat six eggs, half 
the whites in half a pint of milk, and four spoonfuls of flour with a little salt, 
and two of beaten ginger; then by degrees mix in all the milk and a pound 
of dates, tie it in a cloth, and boil it an hour; mfelt butter and pour over it. 
ihamsons are very nice instead of the dates or prunes. 

A Delicious Pudding. —Sift two tablespoonfuls of flour, and mix with 
the beaten yelks of six eggs, add gradually one pint of sweet cream, a quar¬ 
ter of a pound of citron cut in very thin slices, and two tablespoonfuls of 
sugar; mix thoroughly, pour into a buttered tin, and bake twenty-five min¬ 
utes. Serve with vanilla sauce. 

Dandy Pudding. —One and one-half pints of milk, four eggs, sugar to 
taste. Boil the milk and yelks and one teaspoonful of corn starch. Beat the 
whites to a stiff froth, after the cream is cooked, put it in a dish to cool. 
Then drop the whites, after sweetening, on the cream. Brown the top a few 
minutes. 

English Plum Pudding. —One-half pound currants, one pound raisins, 
one-half pound of beef suet, butter the size of an egg, three eggs, one nut¬ 
meg, two teaspoonfuls of lemon, three-fourths of a pint of milk, a little salt, 
flour sufficient to stiffen, mix well together; put into a bowl and bake four 
hours; cover bowl with a cloth. Sauce .—Three tablespoonfuls corn starch, 
one-half pint milk, one-lialf cup of sugar, one tablespoonful of butter; boil 
live minutes. 

Economical Family Pudding. —Bruise with a wooden spoon, through 
a colander, six large or twelve middle-sized potatoes, beat four eggs, mix 
with a pint of good milk, stir in the potatoes, six ounces sugar and flavoring, 
butter a dish, bake half an hour. This receipt is simple and economical, as 
cold potatoes, which may have been kept two or three days, till a sufficient 
quantity is collected, will answer quite well. 

Egg Sauce. —Boil half a dozen eggs hard, when cold remove the shell, 
cut each egg in half crosswise, and each half into four quarters. Put them 
into one pint of melted butter. 

Floating Island Custard. —One-half gallon sweet milk, eight eggs 
beaten to a froth, yelks and whites beaten separately, add one tablespoonful 
of flour and a little milk. Set the milk on the stove in a tin basin or a por¬ 
celain kettle, bring it to a boiling heat, add the mixture of yelks of eggs and 
flour, let it boil up thick, stirring constantly. Flavor with lemon unless 
some other flavoring is preferred (lemon is best), beat the whites of the 
eggs to a stiff froth, sweeten the custard to your taste, place the white of 
eggs on top, let it remain over the stove a minute, then take it off and serve. 
This makes a very nice dessert if made properly, and is good either hot or 
cold. This receipt is enough for eight or ten persons. 

Orange Fritters. —One pound of flour, one pint of milk with a tea¬ 
spoonful of salt in it, and one-quarter of a pound of melted butter, and 
three eggs beaten very light. Prepare four oranges by removing the yellow 
rind and every particle of white pith; divide into small pieces without 
breaking the skin. In each spoonful of batter put a piece of orange, and 
fry a golden brown; sift powdered sugar over as soon as taken from 
the pan. 



COOKING- RECIPES. 321 

Fruit Roll.— Make a crust as usual, which roll out in a long sheet. Cut 
a quantity of fruit, peaches, apples, or plums, or small fruit mashecl, or jam, 
which spread thickly over and sprinkle with sugar; roll up and fold the 
ends over; then wrap in a strong cloth and tie closely, and place in a steamer. 
Serve with sauce or sweetened cream. 

Fig Pudding. —Take a quarter of a pound of figs, pound them in a 
mortar, and mix gradually half a pound of bread crumbs, and four ounces 
of beef suet, minced very small, add four ounces of pounded sugar, and mix 
the whole together, with two eggs beaten up, and a good teacup of new milk. 
When all these ingredients are well mixed, fill a mold and boil for four 
hours. 

Farmers’ Pudding— Heat one quart of milk to boiling, then stir in, 
slowly, one teacup of maizena. Mix with this about six good apples, pared 
and sliced, and add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, one of butter, and a little 
allspice and nutmeg. Pour the whole into a deep dish, and bake until done, 
which will be in about forty minutes. 

Fruit Pudding. —One egg well beaten, one cup sweet milk, one and 
one-half cups of berries, half cup of sugar, one spoonful of butter, one cup 
bread crumbs. Bake in a shallow dish. 

Ginger Pudding. —Five eggs, two cups of sugar, two cups of butter, 
four cups of flour, one cup of molasses, one cup of sour milk, one teaspoon¬ 
ful of soda, ginger and allspice to taste. Bake in a pan or steam in a mold 
or pan. 

Sauce for Ginger Pudding. —One-half pint of molasses, one pint of 
sugar, one-half pint of butter, ginger to suit the taste, and a little water. 
Boil all together until the sauee becomes somewhat thick. 

Golden Pudding. —Half a pound of bread crumbs, quarter of a pound 
] of suet, quarter of a pound of marmalade, quarter of a pound of sugar, four 
eggs; mix the suet and bread crumbs in a basin, finely minced, stir all the 
ingredients well together, beat the eggs to a froth; when well mixed put into 
a mold or buttered basin, tie down with a floured cloth, and boil two hours. 
Serve with poAvdered sugar over it. 

Graham Pudding. —One cup of graham flour, half a cup of sweet 
If milk, a little salt, a teaspoonful of baking powder. Turn over a pudding- 
dish full of sliced apples sweetened with either sugar or molasses. Bake 
till thoroughly done. This is a good dish for those who cannot eat rich pie¬ 
crust, and may be varied by using different kinds of fruit. 

Hard Times Pudding —Half a pint of molasses, half a pint of water, 
two teaspoonfuls of soda, one teaspoonful of salt. Thicken with flour 
enough to make a batter about like that for a cup cake. Put this in a pud- 
; ding-bag; allow room to rise. It would be safe to have the pudding-bag 
i|i about half full of the batter. Let this boil steadily for three hours. Sauce 
to serve with it is made thus: Mix two teaspoonfuls of either white or brown 
su^ar with a lump of butter the size of a butternut; a little salt and one 
large spoonful of flour should be mixed with tho butter and sugar. When 
free from lumps pour boiling water slowly over it, stirring all the time. Let 
it boil up once or twice to make it of the desired thickness. 






322 


THE HOUR Ell 0 LT). 


Hard Sauce for Puddings. —Stir to cream one cup of butter with three 
cups powdered sugar; when light, beat in juice of a lemon, two teaspoon¬ 
fuls nutmeg. 

Home Pudding. —One pint of milk, yelks of two eggs, three crackers 
rolled fine, and bake. Use three-fourths of a cup of sugar, and the -whites 
of the eggs for frosting; spread over the pudding and return to the oven for 
a few minutes. 

Indian Pudding. —Boil two quarts of milk, and while boiling stir in 
cornmeal enough to make it of the consistency of mush; take one cup of 
suet, one cup of molasses, one tablespoonful each of cinnamon and ginger 
and stir into the pudding; scald all together well, and then set away to get 
cool; add three well-beaten eggs, butter, size of egg, one cup each of cur¬ 
rants and raisins, salt and sugar enough to serve without sauce if you wish; 
then bake three hours slowly. Brandy sauce makes it equal to English 
plum pudding. 

Indian Apple Pudding. —Pour three pints of scalded milk over one 
pint of sifted Indian meal, stir in tw r o large spoonfuls of molasses, two tea¬ 
spoonfuls of cinnamon or ginger, and one teaspoonful of salt, add a dozen 
apples, pared and sliced very thin. Bake in a yellow nappy for three hours. 
Serve with a sweet sauce. 

Kiss Pudding. —One quart milk, three tablespoonfuls cornstarch, the 
yelks of four eggs, one-half cup sugar and a little salt. Place part of it, with 
salt and sugar, on the stove and boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in the rest of 
the milk and stir into the boiling milk; also, add the yelks of the eggs and 
flour. Frosting .—The beaten whites of the four eggs, with one-half cup of 
sugar flavored with lemon. Cover the pudding and nicely brown. Save a 
little frosting to moisten the top, then put grated cocoanut over top to give 
it the appearance of snow-flake. 

Kent Pudding. —One qiaart of milk, six ounces of ground rice, three 
eggs, currants, sugar, and spice to taste. The milk and rice should be boiled 
overnight, and the other ingredients mixed in the next morning. Stir the 
mixture well before putting it into the oven. 

Lemon Meringue Pudding. —One quart milk, tw r ocups bread crumbs, 
four eggs, one-half cup butter, one cup white sugar, one large lemon, juice 
and half the rind grated; soak the bread in the milk; add the beaten yelks 
with the butter and sugar rubbed to a cream, also the lemon. Bake in a 
buttered dish until firm and slightly brown; draw to the door of the oven 
and cover with a meringue of the whites whipped to a froth, with three table¬ 
spoonfuls of powdered sugar and a little lemon juice. Brown very slightly; 
sift powdered sugar over it aud eat cold. You may make an orange pud¬ 
ding in the same way. 

Lemon Custard; One cup of sugar, one of sweet milk, one tablespoon¬ 
ful of butter, three eggs, one lemon—mix lemon juice -with yelks and sugar, 
add milk next, then the butter and flour. When the custards are cool 
spread on the whites, well sweetened, and set back in the stove to brown. 

Magic Pastry. —Two tablespoonfuls of pounded sugar, four ounces of 
fine flour, two eggs. Mix all together very smoothly, and fry in lard. 


COOKING RECIPES. 


323 


( 




I 


» 






l 


1 



? 


Lemon Fi liters.—Among the nicest of fruit fritters are those made of 
lemon. To one cnp of milk and one egg allow the juice and pulp of one 
lemon. These maybe served with sauce; with the grated peel of half the 
lemon added to flavor the sauce. 

Lemon Pudding. —One pound of sifted sugar, one pint of cream, one- 
half pound of butter, six eggs, and one lemon. Beat the butter and sugar 
to a cream, add the well beaten eggs, the grated lemon both pulp and peel, 
and the cream. Stir well, and bake. 

Lemon Flap-Jacks. —One pint of milk, four eggs, juice of one lemon, 
flour to make a light batter, pinch of soda. Fry in hot lard. Serve with 
sugar and nutmeg. 

Molasses Sauce. —One cup of molasses, half a cup of water, one table¬ 
spoonful of butter, a little cinnamon or nutmeg (about a half teaspoonful), 
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of salt, three tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Boil all 
together for twenty minutes. Lemon juice may be used in place of vinegar 
if desired. This is very nice for an apple or rice pudding. 

Maple Sugar Sauce. —Break half a pound of maple sugar in small bits, 
put it into a thick saucepan over the fire and melt the sugar until it forms a 
clear syrup; then remove it from the fire and stir in two heaping tablespoon¬ 
fuls of butter cut in small bits. Serve the sauce hot with any fruit pudding. 

Mountain Dew Pudding —Three crackers, rolled, one pint of milk, 
yelks of two eggs, and a small piece of butter. Bake one-half hour, then 
take the whites of the eggs, beat to a stiff 1 froth, add one cup of sugar, and 
put it on the top and bake fifteen minutes. 

Orange Pudding. —Peel and cut in bits five oranges, rejecting the 
seeds. Sprinkle a cup of sugar over it. Boil a pint of milk, to which add 
the yelks of three eggs, well beaten, with one tablespoonful of cornstarch. 
When it thickens pour it over the fruit. Beat the whites of eggs with a 
tablespoonful of white sugar. Frost the pudding and brown it in the oven. 
Substitute strawberries or peaches if you like. 

Peach Pudding. —Beat the yelks of six eggs and one cup of sugar light; 
moisten one tablespoonful of cornstarch with milk and stir in the yelks of 
the eggs; flavor to taste. Stir this mixture in one quart of boiling milk. Let 
it boil up once. Line bottom of a pudding dish with peaches, peeled, cut in 
half, and sugared. Pour over them a layer of the custard; then peaches, 
and so on until the dish is full, leaving the last layer of custard; cover the 
tops with the whites of the eggs whipped to a froth; put in the oven and 
brown. Serve hot or cold. 

To Ice Pastry. —To ice pastry, which is the usual method adopted for 
fruit tarts and sweet dishes of pastry, put the white of an egg on a plate and 
beat it to a stiff froth. When the pastry is nearly baked, brush it over with 
this, and sift over some powdered sugar. Put it back into the oven to set 
the glaze, and in a few minutes it will be done. Great care should be taken 
that the paste does not catch or burn in the oven, which it is very liable to 
do after the icing is laid on. 

Orange Roly Poly. —Make a short, light dough, the same as is used 
for any dumplings, roll into an oblong shape and cover the paste thickly with 


: 





324 


THE HOUSEHOLD . 

sweet oranges, peeled, stirred thin and seeded; sprinkle with sugar, roll up 
closely, folding and pinching down the edge to keep in the syrup. Steam an 
hour and a half. Serve with cream and sugar or hard sauce. 

• 

Pan Pudding —-This is a New England dish, and is nice where appe¬ 
tites are expansive. Take three cups of fine rye meal, three cups of Indian 
meal, on6 egg and three tablespoonfuls of molasses; add a little salt and 
allspice, and enough rich sweet milk to make a batter stiff enough to drop 
from a spoon. Fry to a good brown in hot lard. 

Pineapple Fritters. —One pint of flour, half pint of milk, three eggs, 
half teaspoonful soda, three-fourths teaspoonful cream tartar, one table¬ 
spoonful sugar, salt to taste. Peel and slice one juicy pineapple, and cover 
with sugar; let it stand over night; stir in the batter when ready to fry. To 
be eaten while hot, with sugar. 

Pineapple Pudding. —Peel the pineapple, taking care to get all the 
specks out, and grate it; take its weight in sugar, and half of its weight in 
butter; rub these to a cream and stir them into the apple; then add five 
eggs and a cup of cream. It may be baked with or without the paste crust, 
as you may prefer. 

Peach Potpie. —Put a plain pie crust round the edge of a pan; cut up 
some peaches, and put a layer of them into your pan, then a layer of sugar 
and nutmeg; cover with a crust, and bake slowly for two or three hours. 

Plum Pudding. —One pound raisins, one pound currants, one-half 
pound citron, one-half pound candied fruit, one pound suet, one pound 
sugar, one pound mixed flour and bread crumbs, eight eggs, spices to 
taste; boil four hours. 

Pop-Overs— -One pint milk, one pint flour, butter size of a walnut, three ' 
eggs, beaten light, pinch of salt, add eggs last. Bake in cups, filling them 
half full. 

Puff Pudding. —One and a half cups of flour, one of milk, two eggs, 
and a little salt; bake in a hot oven twenty minutes in pattypans. Serve 
with sauce. 

Queen of Puddings. —One pint of bread crumbs, one quart of sweet 
milk, yelks of four eggs, piece of butter size of an egg. Flavor and bake. 
Beat the white of an egg to a froth with a cup of pulverized sugar. Spread 
over the pudding a layer of jelly, pour the eggs over and brown slightly. 
Serve with cold sauce. 

Quick Pudding— Boil some rice; Avlien done soft, break in three eggs, 
half a cup of cream or milk, and flavor to suit the taste. Give it one boil 
and send it to the table with bits of butter on the top. 

Sweet Potato Pudding —Beat to a cream one pound of sugar and one 
pound of butter, and two pounds of potatoes, mashed tine, five eggs, one 
wineglass of Avine, and half a pint of milk. Bake in a crust. 

Steamed Pudding —One coffeecup of buttermilk, one-third of a cup of 
sugar, one egg, a little salt, a heaping teaspoonful of soda, about 
three and one-half teacups of flour, and one small cup of raisins. Steam 
two hours. 


COOKING RECIPES. 


325 


New Rice Pudding. —Mix four large teaspoonfuls of rice flour with 
half a pint of cold milk, and stir it into a quart of boiling milk until it boils 
again; then remove, stir in butter the size of an egg and add a little salt; 
let it cool, and add four eggs, well beaten, two-thirds of a cup of sugar, 
grated nutmeg, half wineglassful of brandy or other flavoring; bake in a 
buttered dish twenty minutes. To be eaten hot with sauce. 

Rice and Apples.—Core as many nice apples as will fill a dish; boil 
them in light syrup. Prepare one-quarter of a pound of rice in milk with 
sugar and salt, put some of the rice in the dish, and put in the apples; then 
fill up the intervals with rice, and bake it in the oven until it is a fine color. 

Raspberry Fritters. —Make a batter of a pint of milk, one egg, a little 
salt, and enough flour.to make a mixture that will drop from a spoon. Add 
a cup of fine raspberries, with a tablespoonful of granulated sugar mixed 
with them. Fry in hot lard and dash with powdered sugar. 

Raisin Pudding. —One quart of sweet milk, six eggs, one-half teacup 
of butter, one-half teacup sugar, one teacup raisins with seeds removed, 
flour sufficient to make thick batter. Pour into a mold and steam until 
cooked. Butter and sugar flavored for sauce. 

Rice Fritters. —Take one cup of cold boiled rice, one pint of flour, one 
teaspoonful of salt, two eggs beaten lightly, and milk enough to make this a 
thick batter; beat all together well and bake on a griddle. 

Raspberry Custard. —Take three gills of rasberry juice and dissolve in 
it a pound of white sugar, mix it with a pint of boiling cream, stir until quite 
thick, and serve in custard glasses. 

Strawberry Short-Cake. —To make a nice strawberry short-cake, make 
.a nice, rich biscuit crust, bake in a round tin, and when baked cut in two 
parts with a sharp knife; put a thick layer of berries, sweetened to taste, on 
one half, then lay on the other half and fix in the same manner. Some 
think a cup of sweet cream poured over the top layer a great addition. The 
berries should be mashed before placing them on the cake. 

Swiss Pudding —Put layers of crumbs of bread and sliced apples with 
sugar between, till the dish is quite full; let the crumbs be the uppermost 
layer; then pour melted butter over and bake it. Or butter a dish, strew 
bread crumbs thickly over it, add apples, raspberries, or any fruit sweet¬ 
ened, alternately with bread crumbs, until the dish is full; then pour melted 
butter, or rather small lumps of butter, over the top and bake. 

Steamed Apples. —Select nice, sweet apples; wash and place them in a 
pan; turn a little water in the pan and stew; one-half cup sugar over as 
many apples as will cover the bottom of the pan; then cover with anothei 
pan and cook till done. If preferred, you can stew the juice down and turn 
it over the apples. They are much nicer than when baked. 

Suet Pudding— Chop fine one cup of raisins and one-half cup of suet 
(one cup, if wanted very rich), add two cups of sweet milk, one cup of 
sugar, four cups of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, two teaspoon¬ 
fuls of soda, and a little salt. Cover tight and steam or boil two hours ; 
Leave room to swell. Pork chopped very fine, or a little less in measure of 
pork fat, may be used. Eat with liquid sauce. 





326 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Simple Dessert—Put eight crackers in a deep dish, pour enough warm 
water or milk over them to just cover them, and when soaked, which will 
not take longer than ten minutes, sprinkle with sugar, cover with cream, 
garnish with preserved peaches, pears, or quinces, and serve. Try it. 

Snow-Ball Pudding. —Take two teacups of rice, wash, and boil until 
tender; pare and core twelve large sour apples (leaving the apples whole); 
fill the apples with rice, and put it around outside; tie each one in a separate 
cloth and drop in boiling water; serve while hot with cream and sugar, or 
any sauce desired. 

Pudding Sauce.—One cup of sugar, an even tablespoonful of flour, and 
the same of butter. Mix to a cream. Put boiling water to them, mix thor¬ 
oughly and put on the stove to boil fifteen minutes, Stirling occ? sionally. 
Flavor with grated nutmeg. 

Pudding Sauce.—Take the superfluous juice from a can of peaches, 
and heat it to boiling. Mix flour, butter and sugar in about equal quantities, 
add a little vanilla, and cook the mixture in the hot peach juice. This is 
delicious for almost any kind of steamed or fruit pudding. 

A Fine Pudding Sauce. —When a sponge pudding is to be eaten hot an 
excellent sauce is made of sugar and butter whipped to a cream, strawber¬ 
ries or other fruit crushed into it, and a little good wine. If properly made 
no better sauce can be used for a sponge pudding. 

Stewed Apples—Pare your apples and place them in a steamer, with a 
clove in each; then put the steamer over a pot of boiling water, until soft; 
then take them up in the fruit dish and shake powdered sugar over them. 

Sweet Apple Custard.—Pare and core sweet apples; stew them in water 
till tender; strain them through a colander, add sugar and spice to taste, 
and make them like pumpkin pies. 

Snllie Lunn.—One quart of flour, four eggs, one pint of milk, one table¬ 
spoonful of lard, same of butter, two spoonfuls of sugar, one gill of yeast. 

Tapioca Custard.—After soaking a cup of tapioca until perfectly soft, 
drain off any surplus water and add a quart of new milk; set the dish in one 
of boiling water to prevent sticking or burning; sweeten to suit the taste; 
when it begins to grow a little thick, add the yelks of four eggs, beaten, with 
one tablespoonful of sugar; remove from the fire as soon as it becomes the 
consistency of cream, or it will be too hard when cold; flavor to taste after it 
is done, and spread the whites of eggs over the top; brown a delicate color 
in the oven. 

Tiptop Pudding.—One pint of bread crumbs, one quart of milk, one 
cup of sugar, the grated peel of a lemon, yelks of four eggs, a piece of but¬ 
ter size of an egg, then bake. When done spread fresh strawberries over 
the top, or if not in season for strawberries, use a cup of preserved rasp¬ 
berries; pour over that a meringue made Avith the white of the egg, a cup of 
sugar, and the juice of the lemon. Return to the oven to color; let it partly 
cool, and serve with milk or cream. 

Tapioca Pudding —Soak four tablespoonfuls tapioca in a little water 
over night; boil one quart of milk and pour over it Avhile hot; when cool add 




| one-half cup sugar, one egg, and the yelk of one egg, well beaten; bake 
slowly one hour, spread with the whites of two eggs, beaten, return to oven 
brown slightly; flavor with orange. 

Wine Sauce for Pudding -Half a pint of sherry or Madeira wine, 

and half a gill of water; bcil together, and add four tablespoonfuls of sugar, 
the juice of one lemon, and the rind cut into small pieces. To be poured 
over the pudding just before the latter is to be eaten. 

Waffles —One pint of sour cream, one pint of flour, three eggs, half a 
teaspoonful soda, beat up, and bake on hot waffle irons, well buttered, and 
butter well as soon as removed from the iron. 

Yorkshire Pudding. —Make a batter with five tablespoonfuis of flour, 
one egg, and about a pint of milk. Put some of the fat out of the dripping- 
pan into the Yorkshire pudding tin, and when it is boiling hot pour in the 
batter. Bake it in the oven for half an hour, and set it for a few minutes in 
front of the fire under the meat. 

Apple Meringue Pie—Stew and sweeten juicy apples when you have 
pared and sliced them; mash smooth, and season with nutmeg, or stew some 
lemon peel with them and remove when cold; till your pans and bake till 
done; spread over the apples a thick meringue, made by whipping to a stiff 
froth the whites of three eggs for each pie, sweetening with a tablespoonful of 
powdered sugar for each egg; flavor this with rose or vanilla; beat until it 
. will stand alone and cover the pie three-quarters of an inch thick. Set back 
in the oven until the meringue is well set. Should it color too darkly sift 
powdered sugar over it when cool; eat cold. Peaches are even more de¬ 
licious when used in the same manner. 

Cherry Pie. —Stone the cherries; make a paste as for any pie, put in the 
fruit, add sugar, and about three tablespoonfuls water; sprinkle a table¬ 
spoonful flour over fruit; take a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and cut 

I it in small bits over the top; make a paste of one teaspoonful of flour to two 
of cold water, and wet the edges of the crust before putting on the cover; if 
properly done it will prevent the juice from running out; or, roll the edges 
together; while hot, see if it is sweet enough; if not, raise the cover and put 
in more sugar. Eat while slightly warm. 

Spring Mince Pies.—A cup and a half of chopped raisins, one cup of 
sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of warm water, half a cup of vinegar or 
good builed cider, two well-beaten eggs, five crackers, pounded flue; stir all 
together and season with spices as other mince pies; bake with rich crust. 
For the top crust, roll thin, cut in narrow strips, and twist and lay across. 

Cream Pie. —One pint milk, two large spoonfuls sugar, one tablespoon¬ 
ful flour, yelks of two eggs and wliite of one. Beats eggs, sugar, and flour 
together, let the milk get boiling hot, pour in the beaten parts and stir until 
thick, make the crust and bake it; fill with the custard. Beat the remaining 
white of egg till stiff, spread evenly over the top, return to the oven to brown 
slightly. Flavor with lemon or vanilla. 

Custard Pie. —One quart milk, three eggs, one tablespoonful cornstarch, 
one dessertspoonful extract vanilla, one cupful sugar, a very small pinch 
salt; beat the sugar and eggs together, mix the corn starch in a little of the 











328 


TIIE HOUSEHOLD. 


milk, and stir all well together. This is far superior to the ordinary custard 
pie made with four eggs. Less sugar may be used if preferred. 

Mock Lemon Pie.—One cup of sugar, one heaping tablespoonful of 
flour, the yelks of two eggs (save the whites for the top of the pie), one tea¬ 
spoonful of extract of lemon, two-thirds of a cup of boiling water, two-thirds 
of a cup of stewed pie plant; mix the sugar, flour, eggs and extract together; 
then pour on the water, then the pie plant; bake with one crust; when done, 
beat the whites to a stiff froth and spread it over the pie, setting it back in 
the oven for four minutes. 

Pie-Crust Without Lard— Take good, rich buttermilk, soda, and a 
little salt, and mix just as soft as can be mixed and hold together; have 
plenty of flour on the molding-board and rolling-pin; then make and bake 
as other pies, or rather in a slow oven, and when the pie is taken from the 
oven do not cover it up. In this way a dyspeptic can indulge in the luxury 
of a pie. 

Oatmeal Pie Crust. —Scald two parts of fine oatmeal with one part of 
hot water; mix well and roll thin. As this bakes very quickly fruit which 
requires much cooking must be cooked first before making the pies. This 
crust is very tender, possessing all the desirable qualities of shortened pie 
crusts without their injurious effects. 

Beverly Pie.— Pare and grate some sweet mellow apples — about a 
dozen; to a pint of the grated pulp put a pint of milk, two eggs, two table¬ 
spoonfuls of melted butter, the grated peel of a lemon, and half a wineglass 
of brandy; sweeten to your taste; to be baked in a deep plate, with only 
a lower crust. 

Corn-Starch Custard Pie.—Very nice pies are made with two eggs, 
and two large tablespoonfuls of corn starch to a quart of milk; sweeten and 
spice to taste; the corn starch should be mixed smooth with milk and eggs 
beaten up in it, then thin out with more milk; sweeten, season, pour into 
pans lined with paste, and grate a little nutmeg over the top. 

Lemon Pie.—The juice and grated rind of one lemon, one cup of water, 
one tablespoonful of corn starch, one cup of sugar, one egg, and a piece of 
butter the size of a small egg. Boil the water, wet the corn starch with a 
little cold water, and stir it in; when it boils up, pour on it the sugar and 
butter; after it cools, add the egg and lemon; bake with under and upper 
crust. 

Lemon Pie—Four lemons, one cup sugar, one cup molasses, three and 
one-half cups Avater, half cup flour. Grate the rind of two lemons and use 
Avith the inside of the four (but do not use the white skin, as it is bitter), 
cook these ingredients a few minutes before putting it betAveen the crust. 

Lemon Meringue Pie. —Beat the yelks of four eggs, ten tablespoonfuls 
of sugar, three of melted butter, and the juice of one lemon and a half, add 
three tablespoonfuls of milk or water; bake in an undercrust, then beat the 
Avhites, pour over the top and put back in the oven to brown. 

Apple Custard Pie. —Tavo well-beaten eggs, one cup grated sAveet 
apple, one pint sweet milk, two large spoonfuls of sugar, a little salt and 
flavor. 


COOKING RECIPES. 


329 


Rhubarb Cream Pie. —One pint stewed rhubarb, four ounces sugar, 
one pint cream, two ounces powdered cracker, three eggs. Rub the stewed 
rhubarb through a sieve, beat the other ingredients well together, and just 
as the pie is ready for the oven stir in the rhubarb; pour the whole into a 
plate lined with pastry. Cover with strips and bake. 

Orange Pie. —Take the juice and grated rind if one orange, one small 
cup of sugar, yelks of three eggs, one tablespoonful of corn starch, make 
smooth with milk, piece of butter as large as a chestnut, and one cup of milk. 
Beat the whites of the three eggs with sugar, and place on the top after the 
pie is baked—leaving in the oven till browned. 

Buttermilk Pie. —Beat together a heaping cup of sugar and four eggs, 
add half a cup of butter; beat thoroughly, and add one and a half pints of 
fresh country buttermilk. Line the pie tins with crust; slice an apple thin 
and lay in each pie; fill the crust with the mixture, and bake with no upper 
crust. 

Buttermilk Pies. —One clip sugar, two cups buttermilk, two eggs, two 
tablespoonfuls flour, two tablespoonfuls butter; flavor with lemon This 
makes two pies. 

Rice Pie. —To a pint of boiled rice add a pint of rich cream, two eggs, 
salt, and a little mace. Let these ingredients be well mixed, spread half the 
quantity in a deep baking dish, lay pieces of chicken upon it and cover them 
with the remainder of the rice, and bake in a hot oven. 

Pumpkin Pie. —Stew the pumpkin as dry as possible without burning; 
rub it through a colander. To one pint of the pumpkin add three eggs, one 
i quart of milk, one teacup sugar, half teaspoonful salt, and nutmeg or ginger 
to taste. The above quantity will make two large pies. 

Marlborough Pie. —Grate six apples, one cup of Sugar, three table- 
spoonfuls melted butter, four eggs, juice and grated rind of a lemon, two 
tablespoonfuls brandy or wine, if you choose; if not, omit it. Bake in an 
under, but without top crust. 

Washington Pie. —Three eggs, one cup sugar, a scant half cup milk, 
half teaspoonful soda, a teaspoonful cream tartar, cup flour, a piece butter 
size of a hen’s egg, spice to taste; this makes three layers; spread with jelly. 

Cocoanut Pie. —Grate one coeoanut, add one pint of milk, three eggs, 
one cup of sugar and a little salt; add the cocoanut milk. Enough for two 
[I pies. 

Peach Pie. —Line the pie pans with rich pastry, fill with ripe, juicy 
peaches, peeled and cut in quarters, sprinkle well with sugar, cover with a 
thin crust, bake half an hour. Serve cold. 

Prune Pie. —Stew the prunes as for sauce, stone and sweeten, and with 
nice pie crust I think you will call them good. Be sure and not have them 
too dry. 




Fancy Dishes. 

Pineapple Bavarian Cream. —One pint of fresh or canned pineapple, 
one small teacup of sugar, one pint of cream, half a package of gelatine, 






330 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


half a cnp of cold water. Soak gelatine two hours in the water. Chop pine¬ 
apple fine, put it on with the sugar to simmer twenty minutes. Add gelatine 
and strain immediately through a cloth or sieve into a tin basin. Rub the 
pineapple through as much as possible. Beat until it begins to thicken, 
then add cream which has been whipped to a froth. When well mixed, pour 
into a wet mold, and set away to harden. Serve with whipped cream. 

Lemon Float. —Boil one quart of sweet milk and three tablespoonfuls 
of sugar, and mix it with one tablespoonful of corn starch, stirred smoothly, 
and the grated peel of one lemon. When it has boiled ten minutes, add tho 
yelks of three eggs, well beaten, and stir constantly for five minutes. Put 
the pail it was cooked in directly into a pail of cold water, and stir it some 
time, then strain it into a pudding dish. Beat the whites of the eggs to a 
very stiff froth, add the juice of the lemon and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. 
Put them over the pudding and serve ice cold. Desiccated or fresh cocoa- 
nut grated finely can be added to the whites of the eggs, and will improve 
the dish very much. 

Peaclies with Rice. —Take some peaches and cut them in halves; sim¬ 
mer them in a syrup for half an hour, then drain, and when cold arrange 
them on a dish round a shape of rice made as follows: Boil three table- 
spoonfuls of rice, picked and washed clean, in a pint of milk, with sugar to 
taste, and a piece of vanilla; when quite done put it into a basin to get cold. 
Make a custard with a gill of milk and the yelks of four eggs; when cold 
mix it with the rice. Beat up to a froth a gill of cream, with some sugar and 
a pinch of isinglass dissolved in a little water; mix this very lightly with the 
rice and custard; fill a mold with the mixture and set it on ice. When mod¬ 
erately iced turn it out on a dish and serve. 

Coffee Cream.—This is a delicate and agreeable dish for an evening en¬ 
tertainment. Dissolve one ounce and a quarter of isinglass in half a pint of 
water. Boil for two hours a teacup of whole coffee in about half a pint of 
water (ground coffee is not so goo4 for the purpose); add a teacupful to the 
melted isinglass. Put them into a saucepan with half a pint of milk, and 
let the whole boil up; sweeten with loaf sugar, and let it stand ten minutes 
to cool, then add a pint of good cream; stir it well up and pour it into a 
mold and put it in a cool place to fix; turn it out on a glass dish before 
serving up. 

Charlotte Russe.—Take one-fifth of a package of gelatine and one-half 
a cup cold milk; place in a farina boiler and stir gently over the fire until 
the gelatine is dissolved, pour into a dish and place in a cool room; take 
one pint of rich cream and whisk it with a tin egg-beater until it is thick; 
ilavor the cream with either vanilla or wine, and sweeten to taste; when the 
gelatine is cool strain carefully into tho prepared cream; line a mold with 
lady fingers; then pour the cream in carefully until it is filled; cover with 
lady fingers and ice the top if you desire it. 

Snow Eggs. —Snow eggs are formed by putting over the fire a quart of 
rich milk, sweetening it and flavoring it with orange flower water. Separate 
the whites and yelks of six fresh eggs, and beat up the whites to a stiff froth. 
Drop a spoonful at a time into the boiling milk, turning them as quickly as 
possible, and lifting them out of the milk with a skimmer, place them on a 
sieve. Beat up the yelks and stir them into the milk; let them have one 







COOKING RECIPES. 


331 


boil and put in a glass dish. Arrange the whites around the edges and 
serve either hot or cold; the last is preferable. 

Airy Nothings —To three eggs put half an egg-shell full of sweet milk, 
and butter the size of a walnut; work in flour until you can roll the dough 
into as thin a sheet as possible. Cut into cakes with a saucer and stick as 
you do biscuits; bake them quickly but not brown; heap them up on a dish 
aud strew them thickly with powdered sugar. Note .—Allow one pint 
of flour to the other ingredients named above, although every bit may 
not be required; always reserve a little for the rolling out of cakes on a 
board. 

Snow Custard —Boil eight eggs, leaving out the whites of four; add to 
them one quart of milk and five ounces of sugar; have a shallow pan of hot 
water in the oven; set the dish into it, and bake till the custard is thick; 
then se.t away to cool; beat the remaining whites very light; add half a 
pound of sugar and a teaspoonful of lemon juice; when the custard is cold 
lay the whites over the top in heaps, but do not let them touch. 

Cream Pie and Orange Dessert. —Cut the oranges in thin slices aud 
sprinkle sugar over them; let them stand two or three hours; serve on or¬ 
dinary fruit plates. The pie is made with a bottom-crust only, and that not 
thick, but light and flaky. Take one coffeecup of thick, sweet cream, 
half a cup of pulverized sugar, a tablespoonful of flour, one egg; flavor with 
lemon extract; bake until you are sure the crust is brown and hard, so that 
it will not absorb the custard. 

Whipped Cream. —Take one pint of very thick cream, sweeten it with 
very fine sugar and orange flower water; boil it. Beat the whites of ten eggs 
with a little cold cream, strain it, and when the cream is upon the boil, pour 
in the eggs, stirring it well till it comes to a thick curd; and then take it up 
and strain it again through a hair sieve. Beat it well with a spoon till it is 
cold, then place it in a dish in which you wish to serve it. 

Watermelon Tea Dish. —Take a fully ripe watermelon, put on ice 
until thoroughly cold, slice, remove seeds and cut any shape you prefer, 
squares, diamonds, stars, size sufficient for mouthful, put layer into glass 
dish, sprinkle with granulated sugar, another layer with sugar, until you 
fill your dish, sprinkle sugar over top, return to ice-box until wanted for 
tea. Dish and eat the same as any kind of fruit. You will be delighted. 

Compote of Oranges. —Put a handful of loaf sugar to boil with a gill of 
water in a saucepan; when it boils, add the rind of three oranges minced 
finely or cut into very narrow strips. Let the whole boil five minutes, add 
a liquor glass of brandy, and pour the syrup (hot) over half a dozen whole 
oranges, peeled and cored, or cut up in any form you like. Leave the 
oranges in a basin with the syrup till quite cold; then pile them up on a 
dish and serve. 

Gooseberry Trifle— Scald the fruit, press it through a sieve, and add 
sugar to taste. Make a thick layer of this at the bottom of the dish. Mix a 
pint of milk, a pint of cream, and the yelks of two eggs; scald it over the 
fire, stirring it well; add a small quantity of sugar and let it get cold, llien 
lay it over the gooseberries with a spoon, and put on the whole a whip made 
the day before, 


332 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Hen’s iVest. —Take four eggs, make a hole with a pin in one end, take 
out all the yelk and white, fill this with a liquid blanc mange, stand each 
shell in an egg cup and put it away to cool; put some orange marmalade on 
a dish; when the blanc mange is hardened, break off the shells, and stand 
the whole eggs in the center of the orange marmalade. This looks like a 
nest of eggs, and has a pretty effect for a supper table. 

Dessert. —Make a batter as if for waffles; to one pint of milk allow two 
eggs and enough flour to thicken; one teaspoonful of baking-powder should 
be stirred into the flour. Fill a sufficient number of teacups with this and 
fruit in layers. Then set the cups in the steamer, and let the water boil 
underneath it for a full hour. Serve while hot with sugar and cream. Any 
jam is nice for this, or raw apples chopped fine. 

Orange Butter. —Pare eight large oranges, cut into thin slices, pour 
over them one and one-half cups of powdered sugar; boil one pint of milk; 
and, while boiling, add the yelks of three eggs, one tablespoonful of corn 
starch made smooth with cold milk; stir constantly, and when thick pour 
over the fruit; beat the whites of the eggs to a froth, sweeten, pour over the 
custard and brown in the o.ven. Serve cold. 

Cocoanut Cones.— One pound powdered sugar, one-half ditto of gi’ated 
cocoanut, and the whites of five eggs; whip the eggs as for icing, adding the 
sugar as you go on, until it will stand alone, then beat in the cocoanut; mold 
the mixture with your hands into small cones, and set these far enough 
apart not to touch each other upon buttered paper in a baking pan; bake in 
a very moderate oveu. 

Dorcas American Cream. —Four eggs, half box gelatine, one quart 
milk. Put the milk and gelatine on the stove, and when nearly boiling, mix 
in the yelks well beaten. Beat the whites very stiff; then add sixteen table¬ 
spoonfuls of sugar. After they are well beaten, add to the other ingredients 
just as they come off the stove. Flavor with vanilla or anything you may 
fancy. 

Velvet. Cream. —One ounce isinglass, a teacup of wine, the juice of a 
large lemon, one pint of rich cream. Dissolve the isinglass in wine; rub 
large lumps of sugar over the lemon to extract the oil; squeeze out the 
juice, and sweeten to taste. Boil this mixture and strain it; when quite cool 
add the cream, and put it into molds 

Spiral's—Two eggs beaten quite light, sufficient flour stirred in to make 
the mixture very stiff; add a pinch of salt and stir again; then roll out quite 
thin, cut strips about two inches wide and four long, and roll round the 
fingers as if curling hair. Fry in butter till of a delicate golden shade, anci 
sprinkle powdered sugar just before serving. 

Ambrosia —One pineapple chopped quite fine, one-half box of straw¬ 
berries, six bananas sliced and the slices quartered, six oranges sliced and 
the slices quartered, one lemon cut fine. Sweeten to taste; add one wine* 
glassful of sherry or Madeira, and set away until very cold. 

Corn Starch Blanc Mange —Dissolve three tablespoonfuls of coru 
starch in new milk; heat a pint of new milk nearly boiling hot, pour .in the 
starch, stir briskly, and boil for three minutes; flavor with lemon or vanilla. 


COOKING RECIPES. m 

Apple Charlotte. —This is a seasonable dish. Take two pounds of 
apples, pare and core them, slice them into a pan, and add one pound of 
loaf sugar, the juice of three lemons, and the grated rind of one. Let these 
boil until they become a thick mass, which will take about two hours. Turn 
it into a mold, and serve it cold with either thick custard or cream. 

Snowflake. —Dissolve in one quart of boiling water a box of gelatine; 
when thoroughly dissolved add four cups of white sugar and the juice of 
two lemons; when nearly cold strain; beat to a stiff froth the whites of six 
e gg 8 > the whole together, pour into molds and set on ice, or in a very 
cool place. This served with a boiled custard makes a very pretty dish. 

Lemon Conserve. —One pound powdered ivhite sugar, quarter pound 
fresh butter, six eggs, leaving out the whites of two, adding the juice and 
grated rind of three fine lemons. Put all into a saucepan, stir the whole 
gently over a sloiv fire until it gets thick as honey. A delicious spread for 
bread, biscuits or rolls. 

Orange Tart-Grate the yellow of one orange, squeeze out the juice, 
being careful to avoid the seeds, the juice and yellow of half a lemon, fourth 
of a pound of sugar, two ounces butter, carefully melted, two eggs, leaving 
out the white of one, beat well, stir all together, line a tart tin, or pattypans 
with thin paste, fill and bake fifteen or twenty minutes. 

Snow Balls —Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of sweet 
milk, three cups of flour, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, whites of five 
eggs. Bake in deep square tins. The day following, cut in two-inch 
squares, taking the oustide off so as to leave it all white; take each piece on 
a fork and frost upon all sides, and roll in freshly grated cocoanut. 

Spanish Puffs. —Put into a saucepan a teacup of water, a tablespoonful 
of powdered sugar, half a teaspoonful of salt, and two ounces of butter; 
while it is boiling add sufficient flour for it to leave the saucepan, stir in, 
one by one, the yelks of four eggs, drop a teaspoonful at a time into boiling 
lard, fry them a light brown; pour white wine and melted butter over them. 

Peacli Butter. —Pare ripe peaches and put them in a preserving kettle, 
with sufficient water to boil them soft; then sift through a colander, remov¬ 
ing the stones. To each quart of peach put one and one-half pound sugar, 
and boil very slowly one hour. Stir often, and do not let them bum. Put 
in stone or glass jars and keep in a cool place. 

German Trifle. —Put one quart of strawberries, or any other fresh 
fruit, in the bottom of a glass dish; sugar the fruit, cover it with a layer of 
macaroons, pour over it a custard made with one quai’t of milk and the 
yelks of seven eggs, well beaten; sweeten to your taste; when cold, place on 
the top of the eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, with a little sugar. 

Havana Butter. —One and a half cups white sugar, whites of three 
eggs, yelk of one, grated rind and juice of a lemon and a half, or two small 
ones. Cook over a slow fire twenty minutes, stirring all the while. Very 
nice for tarts or to be eaten as preserves. 

Blanc Mange. —One ounce isinglass to one quart of milk, add sugar, 
cinnamon and mace to your taste; put it bv the fire until the isinglass is 
dissolved; strain it, and put it in molds to cool. 


334 


I'EE IT OUSE EO Ll). 


Banana Pie.—One who retains the “ sweet tooth ” of his childhood will 
find this to his liking: Make a banana pie with a lower crust only; bake the 
crust first, then fill it with sliced bananas and powdered sugar; the fruit will 
soften sufficiently in a few moments. Cover the top with whipped cream 
aud eat at once. 

Orange Salad. —Peel one dozen oranges, and cut in slices; put in layers, 
in a glass dish, sprinkling each layer plentifully with sugar. Squeeze over 
this the juice of six oranges, and pour over all a glass of wine or brandy. 
Sweet oranges are best for this dish with very little sugar, but Messinas are 
very good, well sweetened. 

Apple Snow—Put twelve apples in cold water and set them over a 
slow fire; when soft, drain them, take off the peelings, core them, and put 
them in a deep dish; beat the whites of twelve eggs to a stiff froth, put half 
a pound of sugar in the apples, beat them light, then beat in the whites. 
Elegant. 

Apple Cream —Peel and core five large apples; boil them in a little 
water till soft enough to press through a sieve, sweeten, and beat with them 
the whites of five eggs. Serve with cream poured around them. 

Chocolate Cream—Pat over the fire one quart of milk; when it comes 
to a boil add three tablespoon fills of chocolate. Thicken with corn starch 
and sweeten to taste. Flavor with vanilla. Serve cold with cream. 

Caledonian Cream. —Two teaspoonfuls of white sugar, one teaspoonful 
of raspberry jam, two whites of eggs, juice of one lemon. Beat for half an 
hour. Serve up sprinkled with fancy biscuits. 

Quince Su m .—One-third pound of quince marmalade to whites of two 
eggs and quarter pound of sugar; pile in a pyramid in a dish and bake a pale 
yellow. 


Cakes. 

Weights and Measures. —Two cups flour weigh one pound; one pint 
flour, one pound; one pint white sugar, one pound; two tablespoonfuls 
liquid, one ounce; eight teaspoonfuls liquid, one ounce; one gill liquid, four 
ounces. 

Bon-ton Wedding Cake. —Beat to a cream six cups butter and four of 
white sugar, add sixteen eggs beaten, then roll six cups currants washed 
and dried, three cups seeded raisins, two cups minced citron, two cups 
almonds blanched and cut fine, half cup lemon peel minced fine, and one 
tablespoonful cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice, in three pints sifted 
flour, till they are well dredged ivith the flour, then add them all at once to 
the butter, sugar and eggs, add half pint brandy; mix very thoroughly and 
smooth, put in a large cake pan well buttered and lined with paper, and 
bake in a very even oven for eight hours, watch it carefully, and your cake 
will be elegant; ice it the next day with “ transparent icing.” 

Snow Jelly Cake. —Beat two eggs in a teacup and fill with rich, sour 
cream; one teacup of white sugar, one cup of flour, a little soda; not quite 
half a teaspoonful unless the cream is very sour. Bake in four round tins 
and brown as little as possible. Have a jelly prepared by soaking four 



COO KIN a RE01PEB. 


335 


tablespoonfuls of tapioca in warm water until transparent, then add more 
water and place your dish in boiling water on the stove and cook until a 
transparent jelly; flavor strong with lemon, almond, or wintergreen. Gela¬ 
tine is just as nice as tapioca. This cake is not expensive and is very nice, 
and can be eaten by dyspeptics. 

Ricli C’olFee Cake. —Two cups of butter, three of sugar, one of molasses, 
one of very strong coffee, one of cream or rich milk, the yelks of eight eggs, 
one pound each of raisins and currants, one-half pound of citron, the same 
of figs, and five cups of brown flour after it is stirred. Put the flour in the 
oven until a rich brown, being careful not to burn it. When cold sift with it 
three teaspoonfuls of good baking powder and a little salt. Cut the figs in 
long strips, dredge all the fruit with flour, beat the cake well up, and bake 
in moderate oven from four to five hours. 

Marble Cake. — Light Part. —Whites of three eggs, one-lialf cup of but¬ 
ter, one-half cup of sugar, one-half cup of milk, two cups of flour, one-half 
teaspoonfal of soda, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar. 

Park Part .—Yelks of three eggs, one cup of molasses, one-half cup of 
butter, two cups of flour, one teaspoonful soda, one-third cup of milk, and 
flavor Avith mixed spices, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg. Butter the tin and 
put in the pan alternate layers of light and dark parts, having the light part 
on top. 

Lemon Cake. —One cup of sugar, four eggs, three tablespoonfuls of 
sweet milk, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, three teaspoonfuls of 
baking powder and one cup of flour. 

Sauce .—One lemon (juice and grated rind), one cup of cold ivater, one 
cup of sugar, one egg, and tablespoonful of cornstarch. Beat lemon rind 
and egg together; stir in sugar and lemon juice; dissolve cornstarch in cold 
water. Cook in a tin over hot Avater till it jellies. 

Good Plain Cookies— Two cups of Avhite sugar, two eggs, one cup of 
butter (melted), one teaspoonful of soda, six tablespoonfuls of cold Avater; 
roll thin. You may scatter cocoanut over the top before baking. Another 
good recipe for cookies: Two cups of molasses, one cup of sugar, one cup of 
butter, one cup boiling water, tAvo teaspoonfuls of soda, tAvo tablespoonfuls 
of ginger, one tablespoonful of cinnamon; roll as soft as possible. If you 
like the flavor of coffee, you can use half cold coffee and half Avater. 

Sand Hearts. —Two pounds of flour, tAvo pounds of sugar, one pound of 
butter, three eggs. Make up into a dough, and work till the ingredients 
are Avell incorporated. After rolling out and cutting into heart-shape, place 
the cakes on a pan and beat up one egg, spread some of it over them with a 
feather, and then sprinkle Avith granulated sugar. If a little coarse-grained 
all the better, mixing Avith it a little finely-poAvdered cinnamon. 

Watermelon Cake. —White part, two cups of Avhite sugar, two-thirds 
cup of butter, tAVO-tliirds cup of milk, three cups of flour, whites of five 
eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, and t\A r o teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar. Bed 
part, one cup of red sugar, one half cup of butter, one-half cup of milk, two 
cups of flour, one cup of raisins, Avhites of five eggs, one teaspoonful of 
soda, and tAvo teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar. Stone and roll the raisins 
in poAvdered sugar, stir into the cake, and turn into the middle of the pan, 
and pour the AA'hite part over and around it. 




336 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Frosting for Cake. —Allow sixteen tablespoonfuls pulverized sugar for 
each egg. Take part of the sugar at first and sprinkle over the egg; beat 
them for half an hour, gradually stirring in the rest of the sugar; then 
flavor. A little lemon juice whitens icing. Strawberry juice or cranberry 
syrup gives a pretty pink shade. It may be colored yellow by using some 
of the yelk of the egg or by putting the grated peel of a lemon or orange in 
a thin muslin bag and squeezing it hard into the egg and sugar. 


Currant Cookies. —One pound flour, one-half pound of butter, three- - 
quarters of a pound of sugar, four eggs, one half pound of currants well 
washed and dredged, one half teaspoonful of soda dissolved in hot water, 
one-half lemon, grated nnd and juice, one teaspoonful of cinnamon. Drop 
from a spoon upon a baking tin lined with well-buttered paper and bake 
quickly. 

Cocoanut Cake. —Three eggs (the whites of two of them to be used for 
frosting), two-thirds of a cup of sugar, two-thirds of a cup of sweet milk, 
one and two-thirds cups of flour, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and a 
half teaspoonful of soda. Bake in thin round tins; make a frosting of the 
whites of the two eggs, well beaten, with four dessertspoonfuls of white 
sugar; spread on the top of the cakes and sprinkle the grated cocoanut with 1 
the frosting. 


Apple Cake.—A pleasant variation on the jelly and cream filling used w 
for double cakes may be made of apples. Beat one egg light in a bowl, and I 
into it a cup of sugar. Add to this the strained juice and grated rind of a 
lemon. Peel and grate three firm pippins or other ripe, tart apples directly 4 
into this mixture, stirring each well in before adding another. When all are 
in, put into a farina kettle and stir over the fire until the apple custard is 
boiling hot and quite thick. Cool and spread between the cakes. 

Angel Cake. —Sift together four times, one and one-half cups of sugar, 
one cup flour, one teaspoonful cream of tartar; stir in this very lightly \ 
whites of eleven eggs thoroughly beaten. Flavor with one-half teaspoonful J 
of rose extract. Bake fifty minutes in a slow oven, not opening the oven for t 
thirty minutes. Turn pan over on a rack and let cake remain in pan one ^ 
hour. This is the simplest rule for angel cake that we have ever seen, and j 
is excellent. 


A Useful Cake. —One-third cup of butter, two cups light brown sugar, 
two eggs, beat all together. One cup of new sweet milk, three cups of sifted 
flour, three teaspoonfuls baking powder. Stir all together, and bake in 
seven layers. For jelly cake take jelly, for orange cake juice and grated 
rind of one orange, whites of two eggs, make stiff with sugar. For lemon 
cake white of one egg, juice of one lemon, and teaspoonful extract of lemon. 
For cocoanut, whites of two eggs, thickened with sugar and grated cocoanut. 


I 


Dolly Vartlen Cake. —Two cups of sugar,' two-thirds of a cup of butter, 
one cup of sweet milk, three cups of flour, three eggs, one-half teaspoonful 
of soda, one teaspoontul of cream tartar. Flavor with lemon. Bake one- V 
half of this in two pans. To the remainder add one tablespoonful of 
molasses, one cup of chopped raisins, one-half cup of currants, piece of 
citron chopped fine, one teaspoonful of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Bake 1 
in two pans and put in sheets alternately with a little jelly or white of an 
egg beaten to a froth. 


COOKING RECIPES. 3-7 

Almond Cake —The following recipe for almond cake is a good one. It 
makes a very nice cake for the basket. Take one cup of butter, one cup and 
a half of sugar, three eggs, half of a cup of milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking 
powder, about two cups of flour; flavor with a little almond extract; blanch 
one pound of almonds; lay aside enough to cover the top of the cake when 
they are cut in. halves; chop the rest and put into the cake. After the cake 
is in the tin, lay the split ones over the top of the cake; they will rise and 
brown as the cake bakes. This is delicious; try it. 

Raised Raisin ( ake. —Dissolve half a square of compressed yeast in 
one large cup of milk and stir in one pound of flour, let rise; when light beat 
together eight ounces each of butter and sugar, yelks of four eggs, cup of 
stoned raisins, some fine cut citron, and gi*ated peel of a lemon; stir now into 
the dough, beating it very light (it is best to use the hand), let it rise again 
in a round cake pan and bake in an even but moderate oven. 

Strawberry or Red Cake. —Whites of five eggs; butter, one cup; sugar, 
one cup; red sugar sand, one cup; or if wanted very dark, two cups of red 
sugar, leaving out the white; sweet milk, one cup; corn starch, one cup; 
flour, two cups; baking powder, three teaspoonfuls; then make a white cake 
and bake same as marble cake, or, if desired, bake in layers and put to¬ 
gether with frosting. 

Farmer’s Fruit Cake. —Soak three cups of dried apples over night in 
warm water. Chop slightly in the morning, and simmer two hours in two 
cups of molasses. Add two well-beaten eggs, one cup of sugar, one cup of 
butter, one dessertspoonful of soda, flour enough to make rather a stiff bat¬ 
ter. Flavor with nutmeg and cinnamon to the taste. Bake in a quick oven. 

Ice Cream Cake-Take the whites of five eggs, one and a half cups of 
sugar, one-half cup of butter, one cup of milk, one-half teaspoonful of soda, 
one teaspoonful cream tartar, three cups of flour. Separate this mixture 
and color half with StraAvberry coloring. Flavor this with vanilla, the white 
with lemon. Put in the white, then the pink. Bake slowly. 

Rice Cake. —Take half a pound of clarified butter, eight eggs well 
beaten, leaving out the whites of two, three-quarters of a pound of pounded 
sugar, and the grated peel of a lemon; mix these well together; then add 
grounded rice and dried flour, half a pound of each; currants and candied 
peel may be added, when approved. 

Pineapple Cake. —Three cups sugar, one cup butter, five eggs, three 
and one-half cups of flour, one-half cup cold water, two teaspoonfuls baking 
powder. Bake in layers; spread each layer with a thick icing, then cover 
with grated pineapple. Place on next layer and treat as before. 

Gelatine Frosting. —One tablespoonful gelatine, two tablespoonfuls of 
cold water; when the gelatine is soft, one tablespoonful of hot water. When 
entirely dissolved add one cup of powdered sugar, and beat while it is yet 
warm until white and light; lemon to taste. Give good measure to all the 
ingredients. This frosts one sheet of cake 

Molasses Cookies. —Two cups and one-lialf hot molasses, one cup of 
shortening (half butter and half lard), one teaspoonful of ginger and one of 
cinnamon; dissolve two teaapoonfuls of saleratus in a cup of lukewarm 



338 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


water and throw in as quickly as possible; add some flour and stir a few 
minutes as you would soft cake, then add more flour; mix as soft as you can 
conveniently and roll out. 

Banana Cake.—One cup of butter, two cups sugar, one cup of water 
or of sweet milk, three eggs, four cups of flour, three small teaspoonfuls of 
baking powder; mix lightly and bake in layers. Make an icing of the whites 
of two eggs, and one cup and a half of powdered sugar. Spread this on the 
layers, and then cover thickly and entirely with bananas, sliced thin. This 
cake may be flavored with vanilla. The top should be simply frosted. 

Buttermilk Cakes. —We advise those ladies who live in the country, 
where buttermilk can be easily procured, to try the following receipt, which 
makes a very good light cake: Into two pounds of flour rub one pound of 
butter, add three-quarters of a pound of currants, two ounces of candied 
peel, one pint of buttermilk, and one ounce of carbonate of soda. Mix and 
beat them well together, and bake in a tin. 

Bachelors* Buttons. —These delicious little cakes are prepared by rub¬ 
bing two ounces of butter into five ounces of flour; add five ounces of white 
sugar, beat an egg with half the sugar and put it to the other ingredients. 
Add almond flavoring according to taste, roll them in the hand about the 
size of a large nut, sprinkle them with lump sugar, and place them on tins, 
with buttered paper. They should be lightly baked. 

Bread Cake. —Two cups of very light bread sponge, take one cup butter 
and lard mixed, one ciap sugar, one cup molasses, one tablespoonful cinna¬ 
mon, half teaspoonful cloves, one teaspoonful soda, one tablespoonful rich 
milk, two eggs; mix these ingredients well and add to the risen sponge, with 
flour to make as stiff as cup cake, and one cup of raisins; let rise until light 
and bake slowly. 

Coffee Cakes— Three cups of bread sponge, one-half cup of butter, two 
tablespoonfuls of sugar, two eggs. Roll thin, cut out as for biscuit; sprinkle 
with sugar, cinnamon, and bits of butter. Bake slowly. 

Black Cake —One and three-quarter pounds of flour, one and one- 
quarter pounds of brown sugar, one pound of butter, one and one-half 
pounds of raisins, one and one-half pounds of currants, one-half pound of 
lard, four eggs, one pint of milk, one nutmeg, and mace, one teaspoonful of 
baking powder. Wine and brandy. 

Filling for Layer Cake. —A delicious filling for a layer cake is made 
of one cup of stoned raisins and one lemon peeled, chopped together; mix 
with this half a cup of cold water and one cup of sugar. Beat this well 
together; if the cake is well baked, so that there is a crust on the top, put 
the filling in while the cake is still warm. Be sure to remove the seeds from 
the lemons. 

Old-Fashioned «Master Gingerbread.”_One cup molasses, two 
large spoonfuls butter, one teaspoonful soda dissolved in three tablespoon¬ 
fuls boiling water, one teaspoonful ginger; knead well but not hard; roll 
into sheets, mark with a fork and bake quickly; this will make three com¬ 
mon sized sheets; after it is baked and while hot, mix one teaspoonful sweet 
milk and one of molasses and wet the top. 


COOKING RECIPES. 


339 


Chocolate Jumbles, —One and a half teacups of white sugar, one-half 
a teacup of sweet cream, one-half a teacup of butter, one teacup of choco¬ 
late, half a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in cream, one teaspoonful cream of 
tartar, one egg Work very stiff with flour, mix the chocolate and cream of 
tartar in the flour, roll thin, cut with a cutter. 

Honey Cakes. —Three and one-half pounds of flour, one and one-half 
pounds of honey, one-half pound of butter, one-half pound of sugar, half a 
nutmeg, one tablespoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of soda; roll thin and 
cut in small cakes; bake in a quick oven, cover tight and let stand till moist. 
They will keep a long time. This recipe has been used in one family for 
twenty-five years’. 

Huckleberry Cake —One cup butter, two cups sugar, three cups flour, 
five eggs, one cup sweet milk, one teaspoonful soda dissolved in hot water, 
one teaspoonful each of nutmeg and cinnamon. One quart of ripe berries 
dredged well with flour. Stir them iu carefully so as not to burn them. 
Bake in loaf or card. 

Boston Cake —One pound of flour, one pound of sugar, half a pound of 
butter, cup of sour cream, five eggs, teaspoonful of soda, spice. Beat but¬ 
ter and sugar to a cream, then yelks of eggs beaten very light, dissolve soda 
in cream, and add then flour alternately with whites of eggs beaten to a 
froth; spice to taste; fruit can be added; bake in a moderately hot oven, 
especially if fruit is added. 

Queen’s Cake. —One pound flour, one pound of sugar, half pound of 
butter, live eggs, flavoring essence to taste, cup of milk, one pound of cur¬ 
rants, spice and citron. Beat butter and sugar to a cream, add eggs well 
beaten, then milk, flour, spice and fruit. Chopped raisins can be used iu 
place of currants, if preferred. Bake two hours in a pretty hot oven. 

Cream Cake. —One-half cup of butter, two cups sugar, three eggs 
beaten in one cup of milk, three cups of flour, two teaspoonfuls of cream of 
tartar, one teaspoonful of soda. Cream for middle, one pint of milk, let it 
come to a boil, one-half cup of flour, one cup of sugar, two eggs, flavor with 
vanilla and a lump of butter. This is worth trying. 

Cream Tea Cakes. —Two pounds of flour, a teacup of butter, half pint 
of sour cream, half a teaspoonful of saleratus, and a little salt. Mix well. 
If necessary, add more cream. Make into small round cakes, and bako 
fifteen or twenty minutes. When done, open one side, and insert a piece of 
butter, or serve otherwise, hot. 

Mrs. Crabtree’s Cake. —One cup sugar, one-half cup butter, three 
eggs, leaving out whites of two for frosting; one-half (jup of sweet milk, one- 
half teaspoonful soda, one teaspoonful cream of tartar, two cups, not quite 
full, flour. Frosting .—Whites of two eggs, beat to a froth, one and half cups 
sugar; one cup raisins chopped fine, one cup English walnuts, chopped 
fine. 

Lady Fingers. —Take two eggs, one cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, 
half a cup of sweet milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder; add enough 
flour to form a soft dough. Take a small piece of dough, flour it and roll 
with your hands as large as your finger; cut off iu four-inch lengths and put 
closely in buttered pars. Bake quickly. 




340 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Loaf Seed Cake. —Take one loaf of dough, one cup of brown sugar, half 
cup of butter or drippings, half ounce of caraway seeds, or a quarter pound 
of currants, a little spice, two eggs; mix thoroughly with the hands, and set 
to rise. Do not bake until real light; bake in a deep tin. 

Kisses.—Beat the whites of three fresh eggs to a stiff froth; mix with five 
spoonfuls powdei*ed sugar and flavor with lemon. Butter a pan and lay in 
it white paper. Drop the mixture upon- it in teaspoonful cakes, at least an 
inch apart. Sift sugar over; bake half an hour in a slow oven. 

Adelaide Cake. —One pound of flour, one pound of sugar, one-half 
pound of butter, six eggs, one cup of milk; rub the butter and sugar to¬ 
gether, then add the yelks of the eggs, theu the milk, with soda and cream 
tartar in it; flavor with lemon; mix the flour and whites of eggs in 
alternately. 

Fruit Cream Cake.—One cup of brown sugar, one egg, butter the size 
of an egg, one cup of cream, one teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonfui of 
cinnamon, one small nutmeg, two cups ol' flour, one cup and a half of seeded 
raisins. This will make one good-sized loaf. 

Hickory nut Micaruam.—Make frosting as for cake; stir in enough 
pounded hickorynut-meats, with mixed ground spice to taste, to make con¬ 
venient to handle. Flour the hands and form the mixture into little balls. 
Place on buttered tins, allowing room to spread, and bake in a quick oven. 

Ten Cake. -Beat two eggs in a teacup, fill the cup Avith sweet milk, add 
one cup sugar, ten even teaspoonfuls melted butter, one and three-fourths 
cups flour, two teaspoonfuls baking powder. This is the most reliable, easily 
made, and accommodating of cakes. Delicious baked in layers, and spread 
with jelly, chocolate icing, or cream. May be baked in a loaf or small patty 
pans, and served warm with tea. 

Boston Ten Cakes.—One well beaten egg, two tablespoonfuls sugar, 
one cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonfui of soda dissolved in the milk, two 
teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar sifted into the dry flour, two heaping cups 
of sifted flour, one tablespoonful of butter, melted. Bake in small tins. 

Soft Cookies. —One heaping cup of butter, one and a half of sugar, two 
eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sour milk, a small teaspoonfui of soda, and as 
little flour as will roll them out. Do not roll them thin. Sprinkle over 
before cutting out, and press it in slightly with the rolling pin. 

Ginger Snaps. —One cup molasses, one cup brown sugar, half cup lard 
and butter melted together, three tablespoonfuls ginger, one teaspoonfui 
cinnamon, half teaspoonfui cloves, one teaspoonfui soda dissolved in half a 
cup of boiling water; fliicken with flour; roll and bake. 

C Kristinas Cake.—Butter, blanched almonds, sugar, grocers’ cur¬ 
rants, and candied peel, half a pound of each; half a pint of cream, a meas¬ 
ured half pint of eggs out of their shells, and enough French brandy and 
Madeira wins in equal parts to make the whole sufficiently moist; the eggs 
are to be whisked, the cream whipped, and the butter beaten as for a pound 
cake; bake it for two horn’s in a hoop or tin. 

Molasses Sponge Cake. —One cup molasses, one and a half of flour, 
three eggs, one teaspoonfui soda; bake in a quick oycu, 


COOKING RECIPES. 


341 

Torn Cake— -Three eggs whipped light, yelks and whites separately, 
two cups sour or buttermilk, three tablespoonfuls melted butter, one tea¬ 
spoonful soda dissolved in boiling water, one tablespoonful white sugar, 
one small teaspoonful salt. Corn meal enough to make a rather thin batter. 
Bake in a shallow pan, or in small tins, thirty minutes in a hot oven. 

Fruit Cake. —Three pounds of flour, three pounds of sugar, three 
pounds of blitter, thirty eggs, one ounce of cinnamon, four or five nutmegs, 
cloves to your judgment, half a pint of wine and brandy each, six pounds of 
currants, five pounds of stoned raisins, one citron and a half. 

Jelly Cake—to Roll. —Three eggs beaten well with one cup of sugar; 
■when light add one cup of flour, teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one-half 
teaspoonful of soda dissolved in water. Baking powder can be used instead 
of cream of tartar and soda. 

Sponge Drops. —Beat to a froth three eggs and add one teacup of sugar: 
beat five minutes; stir into this one and a half cups of flour, in which one 
teaspoonful of cream of tartar and one half teaspoonful of soda are thor¬ 
oughly mixed; flavor with lemon; butter tin sheets, and drop in spoonfuls 
about three inches apart. 

Mother’s Tea Cake. —Break an egg in a teacup, filled with sugar, beat 
thoroughly together, add one cup thick, sour cream, one teaspoonful soda, 
a little salt, half a nutmeg, and flour to make a stiff batter; bake twenty 
minutes in a moderate oven. 

Clioice Fig Cake. —A large cup of butter, two and a half cups of sugar, 
one of sweet milk, three pints of flour with three teaspoonfuls of baking 
powder, the whites of sixteen eggs, a pound and a quarter of figs (the 
choicest), well floured and cut in strips like citron; no flavoring. 

Fried Cakes Without Eggs. —Take one and one-half cups of sugar, 
one cup of thick cream, two cups of buttermilk, one teaspoonful of cinna¬ 
mon, about two and one-half teaspoonfuls of soda, and flour to mix. Roll, 
cut into rings, and fry in very hot lard. 

Coffee Snaps. —Half cup molasses, half cup sugar, half cup lard and but¬ 
ter, mixed, a little salt, half teaspoonful soda, dissolve in quarter cup of 
strong coffee. Beat well; add flour enough to roll. Bake in a quick oven. 

Currant Cake. —One-half cup of butter, one cup of sugar, two eggs, 
one-half cup of milk, one and one-half cups of flour, two teaspoonfuls of 
baking powder, one cup of washed currants dredged with flour. 

Layer Cake. —The layer cake, so popular now, made of two layers of 
white cake with one of fruit cake in the middle, may be varied deliciously 
by making the middle layer of walnut cake. For this, if the cake is a large 
one, take two-thirds of a cup of sugar, one-third of a cup of butter, one cup 
flour, one egg, one teaspoonful baking powder, and nearly one cup of liickory- 
nut meats. 

Ilickorynut Cake. —One cup broken hickory meats, one and one-half 
cups sugar, one-lialf cup butter, two cups flour, three-fourths cup sweet 
milk, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, and the whites of four eggs, well 
beaten. Add the meats last. 



342 THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Chocolate Icing. —Put into a saucepan half a pound of powdered loaf- 
sugar, two ounces of grated chocolate, and about a gill of water; stir on the 
fire until the mixture assumes the consistence of a thick, smooth cream. 

Hickorynut Cookies —Take two cups of sugar, two eggs, half a cup of 
melted butter, six tablespoonfuls of milk or a little more than a third of a 
cup, one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda, and one 
cup of chopped kernels stirred into the dough. 

Cookies —Two eggs, half a cup of butter, or half lard with the butter, 
one cup of white sugar, flavor with lemon extract and nutmeg, three tea¬ 
spoonfuls of baking powder sifted with flour enough to make the consistency 
to roll. 

Molasses Cake— Two cups of New Orleans molasses, four cups of flour, 
one cup of water, one cup of butter, one egg, two teaspoonfuls of soda, one 
orange; grate the peel, put that in, and also the juice and pulp. 

Sponge Cake. —Beat four eggs, two cups sugar, two cups of flour with 
two heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder sifted in, all together thoroughly; 
then add a little lemon and two-thirds cup of boiling water. Be^t well and 
bake, and you will have as fine a cake as was ever eaten. 

Clove Cake. —Two cups flour, half cup molasses, one-half cup butter, 
one-half cup milk, two eggs, two cups raisins, one teaspoonful of soda, half 
teaspoonful each of cloves, cinnamon, and allspice, half a nutmeg. 

Macaroons.—The whites of three eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; half a 
pound of cocoanut, half a pound of rolled and sifted crackers, and an even 
tablespoonful of extract of bitter almond. Drop them upon a greased paper, 
in a dripping-pan, and bake a light brown. 

Feather Cake. —One cup of milk, one cup of flour, one egg, half a cup 
of sweetened milk, one tablespoonful of melted butter, one teaspoonful of 
baking powder, one teaspoonful of lemon juice. B">e to a dark brown. 

Ginger Cookies. —One cup of sugar, one of i one of molasses, one 

tablespoonful of ginger, one of cinnamon, and two teaspoonfuls of saleratus, 
dissolved in three tablespoonfuls of hot water. Bake quickly 

Snowden Cake. —Beat to a cream half a pound of butter, three-quarters 
of a pound of granulated sugar, the whites of six eggs, half a teacup of 
cream, and or.e pound of Bermuda arrow-root. Add the beaten yelks of two 
of the eggs, and a little salt. Bake in a mold one hour. 

New Wiy to Prepare Chocolate Cake. —Lovers of chocolate cake will 
rejoice a* a new way of preparing it. Use the usual recipe for the cake, 
omitting ^ne-third of a cup of flour. Grate the chocolate as for layer cake, 
add io the dough, mix thoroughly, and bake in a loaf. 

Frnit Cake. —One cup of butter, one cup of sugar, one cup of molasses, 
three cups of flour, one half cup of milk, one cup of chopped raisins, one 
teaspoonful of cloves, cinnamon and allspice, two eggs, and two teaspoonfuls 
of baking powder or one teaspoonful of soda. 

Doughnuts. —One egg, one cup sugar, one teaspoonful of butter, one 
cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of cream tartar. 


COOKING RECIPES . 


343 


Cocoamit Coolctes. —Two cups of white sugar, one cup of butter, two 
cups of grated cocoanut, two eggs, one teaspoonful of baking powder, and 
mix with enough flour to roll easy. Roll very thin, bake in a quick oven, 
but not brown. 

To Flavor Cake. —An economical and really delicious way to flavor 
cake which is to have icing over the top, is to grate part of the peel of an 
orange or lemon over the cake before putting the icing on. 

White Mountain. Cake. —One tablespoonful of butter, four tablespoon¬ 
fuls of milk, one cup of flour, one cup of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of yeast- 
powder, and two eggs; cream, Avhites of two eggs, six ounces of pulverized 
sugar. 

Railroad Sponge Cake,- One and a half cups of sugar, two even cups 
of flour, four eggs, one teaspoobfol of baking powder. Mix and add one- 
third of a cup of hot water. 

Plum Cake. —One pound flour, one pound sugar, one pound butter, 
five pounds currants, ten ounces citron, three-quarters of an ounce of cloves, 
three-quarters of an ounce nutmegs, ten eggs, one wineglass brandy. 

Crullers. —Two coffee cups sugar, one coffee cup milk, four eggs, six 
spoonfuls lard, two teaspoonfuls cream tartar, one teaspoonful soda, flour 
to make stiff enough to roll; fry in boiling lard; spice to suit the taste. 

Virginia Snow Cake. —The whites of nine eggs, two cups sugar, four 
cups flour, one cup sweet milk, one cup butter, two teaspoonfuls baking 
powder. 

Water Pound Cake. —One cup of butter, three cups of sugar, one cup 
of water or milk, four cups of flour, six eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, two 
teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar. 

No Egg Cake. —Two and a half cups of flour, half a cup each of butter 
and milk, one and a half ~ups of brown sugar, and one teaspoonful of soda. 
Flavor with nutmeg. 

Cup Cake —Two cups of sugar, one cup of milk, one-half cup of butter, 
two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, four eggs, two and one-half cups of 
flour. 

Gold Cake. —Yelks of five eggs, one and three-fourths cups butter, one- 
half cup milk, one and one-quarter cups flour, one cup sugar, two spoonfuls 
baking powder. 

Ice Cream and Summer Drinks. 

French. Vanilla Ice Cream. —One quart rich sweet cream, half a 
pound of granulated sugar, and the yelks of six eggs. Place the cream and 
sugar in a porcelain kettle on the fire, and allow them to come to a boil; 
strain through a hair sieve, and having the eggs well beaten add slowly to 
the cream and sugar while hot, at the same time stirring rapidly. Place on 
the fire again, and stir for a few minutes; then pour into the freezer, and 
flavor with one tablespoonful of vanilla. 

Crushed Strawberry Ice Cream. —Three pints best cream, twelve 
ounces pulverized white sugar, two whole eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of 



344 trtltt HOUSEHOLD. 

extract of vanilla. Mix in a porcelain basin, place over the fire, and stli* 
constantly until it reaches a boiling point. Strain through a hair sieve into 
the freezer, select, hull and crush to a pulp one quart ripe strawberries, 
with six ounces pulverized sugar. Add this pulp to the frozen cream, mix 
well, and give the freezer a few additional turns to harden. 

Coffee Ice Cream. —One quart best cream, half a pint strong coffee,, 
fourteen ounces white pulverized sugar, yelks of eight eggs. Mix in a por¬ 
celain-lined basin, place on the fire to thicken, and strain through a hair 
sieve. Put into a freezer and freeze. 

Lemon Ice Cream. —One quart best cream, eight ounces of pulverized 
sugar, three whole eggs, and a tablespoonful of extract of lemon. Place on 
the fire, stirring continually until it reaches the boiling point, then remove 
and strain into the freezer. 

Italian Orange Ice Cream. —One pint of best cream, twelve ounces 
of pulverized sugar, the juice of six oranges, two teaspoonfuls of orange 
extract, the yelks of eight eggs, and a pinch of salt,. 

Biscuit Glaze. —One pint and a half of cream, the yelks of eight eggs, 
and one tablespoonful of vanilla; take six ounces of crisp macaroons and 
pound to a dust; then stir into it another tablespoonful of vanilla; mix the 
cream, sugar and vanilla; place on the fire and stir until it begins to thicken; 
strain into freezer, and when nearly frozen add the macaroon dust and 
finish. Eggs can be left out of all ice cream recipes if desirable. 

Orange Ice. —Squeeze the juice from six lai-ge oranges and two lemons; 
pour about five gills of boiling water over the broken peel and pulp and let 
it stand until cool; then strain and add the water to the orange and lemon 
juice. Sweeten to taste with loaf sugar, and freeze. 

Liemon Water Ice. — Rub on sugar the clear rinds of lemons; squeeze 
the juice of twelve lemons, strain them, boil the sugar into a strong, thick 
syrup; add to the juice half a pint of water, or good barley water, sweeten it 
with your syrup, and add the white of an egg and jelly. 

Oranges Cold. —Frozen oranges, for dessert at any season of the year, 
are delicious. Remove the peel and slice the oranges; to each pound of 
oranges add three-quarters of a pound of sugar and one-lialf pint of water, 
and freeze. 

Red Currant Fruit Ice. —Put three pints of ripe currants, one pint of 
red raspberries, half a pint of water in a basin. Place on the fire and sim¬ 
mer for a few minutes, then strain. Add twelve ounces of sugar and half a 
pint of water. 

Raspberry Water Ice. —Press sufficient raspberries through a hair 
sieve to give three pints of juice, and add one pound of piilverized sugar and 
the juice of one lemon. 

Egg-!Vogg. —To make a quart take three eggs, nearly a pint of good 
fresh milk, sugar and spice to suit the taste. Put these in a pitcher; add hot 
water to make a quart; then stir, or change from one vessel to another until 
completely mixed; then add a wineglass or more of the best whiskey. Wine 
may be used instead of whiskey. The eggs and sugar must be thoroughly 
beaten before being put with the hot water. 


(JO OKING RECIPES. * UH 

linger Beer —White sugar, twenty pounds; lemon juice, eighteen 
ounces; honey, one pound; bruised ginger, seventeen ounces; water, eigh¬ 
teen gallons; boil the ginger in three gallons of the water for half an’hour; 
then add the sugar, the juice and the honey, with the remainder of the 
water, and strain through a cloth; when cold, add the white of an egg and 
half an ounce of the essence of lemon; after standing four days, bottle. This 
1 beverage will keep for many months. 

Wliite Spruce Beer —Mix together three pounds of loaf sugar, five 
gallons of water, a cup of good yeast, adding a small piece of lemon peel, 
and enough of the essence of spruce to give it flavor. When fermented, pre¬ 
serve in close bottles. Molasses or common brown sugar can be used, il 
necessary, instead of loaf, and the lemon peel left out. Sometimes, when 
unable to obtain the essence of spruce, we have boiled down the twigs. This 
will be found a delightful home drink. 

Sham Champagne— A good temperance drink is made as follows: 
Tartaric acid, one ounce; one good-sized lemon; ginger root, half ounce; 
white sugar, one and a half pounds; water, two and a half gallons; brewer’s 
yeast, four ounces. Slice the lemon, bruise the ginger, and mix all except 
the yeast. Boil the water and pour it upon them; let it stand until cooled 
down to blood heat, then add the yeast and let it stand in the sun all day, 
and at night bottle. In two days it will be fit for use. 

Berry Sherbet. —Crush one pound of berries, add them to one quart of 
water, one lemon sliced, and one teaspoonful of orange flavor, if you have 
it. Let these ingredients stand in an earthen bowl for three hours; then 
strain, squeezing all the juice out of the fruit. Dissolve one pound of pow¬ 
dered sugar in it, strain again, and put on the ice until ready to serve. 

Cherry Effervescing Drink —Take a pint of the juice of bruised 
I cherries, filter until clear, and make into a syrup with half a pound of sugar; 
then add one ounce of tartaric acid, bottle and cork well. To a tumbler 
three parts full of water, add two tablespoonfuls of the syrup and a scruple 
of carbonate of soda; stir well, and drink while effervescing. 

Orangeade or Lemonade. -Squeeze the juice, pour boiling water on a 
little of the peel, and cover close; boil water and sugar to a thin syrup and 
skim it. When all are cold, mix the juice, the infusion, and the syrup with 
as much more water as will make a rich sherbet; then strain. Or, squeeze 
the juice and strain it, then add to it water and capillaire. 

Ginger Lemonade. —Take half cup of vinegar, one cup of sugar, tw r o 
teaspoonfuls of ginger, stir well together; put in a quart pitcher and fill with 
ic6 water. If one wants it sweeter or sourer than these quantities make it, 
more of the needed ingredients may be put in. It is a cooling drink, and 
almost as good as lemonade, some preferring it. 

Iceland Moss Chocolate. —Dissolve one ounce of Iceland moss in one 
pint of boiling milk; boil one ounce of chocolate for five minutes in one pint 
of boiling water; thoroughly mix the two, and give it to the invalid night and 
morning. This is a highly nutritive drink for invalids. 

Staffordshire Syllabub.— Put a pint of cider and a glass of brandy, 
sugar and nutmeg, into a boAvl, and pour milk on the top of it; or pour warm 
milk from a large teapot some height into it. 










846 


THE If OUSE HO LI). 


Effervescing Lemonade. —Boil two pounds of white sugar with one 
pint of lemon juice; bottle and cork. Put a tablespoonful of the syrup into 
a tumbler about three parts full of cold water, add twenty grains of car¬ 
bonate of soda, and drink quickly. 

Cool Summer Drink.— Take one pound finely powdered loaf sugar, 
one ounce of tartaric or citric acid, and twenty drops of essence of lemon. 
Mix immediately, and keep very dry. Two or three spoonfuls of this, 
stirred briskly in a tumbler of water, will make a very pleasant glass of 
lemonade. 

Table Beer. —A cheap and agreeable table beer is made as follows: 
Take fifteen gallons of water, and boil one-half, putting the other into a bar¬ 
rel; add the boiling water to the cold, with one gallon of molasses and a 
little yeast. Keep the bung hole open till the fermentation is completed. 

Root Beer— To make Ottawa root beer, take one ounce each of sassafras, 
allspice, yellow dock, and wintergreen, half an ounce each of wild cherry 
bark and coriander, a quarter of an ounce of hops, and three quarts of 
molasses. Pour boiling water on the ingredients, and let them stand twenty- 
four hours. Filter the liquor, and add half a pint of yeast, and it will be 
ready for use in twenty-four hours. 

Milk Lemonade. —Dissolve three-quarters of a pound of loaf sugar in 
one pint of boiling water, and mix with them one gill of lemon juice and one 
gill of sherry; then add three gills of cold milk. Stir the whole well 
together and strain it. 

IV ice Lemon Beer. —Slice two good-sized lemons, put with them one 
pound of sugar; over these pour one gallon of boiling water, and when 
about milk warm add one-third cup of yeast. Let it stand over night, and 
it is ready for use. 


Confectionery. 

To Make Tomato Figs. —Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, in 
order to remove the skin; then weigh them and place them in a stone jar; 
with as much sugar as you have tomatoes, and let them stand two days; 
then pour off the syrup, and boil and skim until no scum rises. Then pour 
it over the tomatoes, and let them stand two days, as before; then boil and 
skim again. After the third time they are fit to dry, if the weather is good; 
if not, let them stand in the syrup until drying weather; then place on large 
earthen plates or dishes, and put them in the sun to dry, which will take 
them about a week; after which, pack them down in small wooden boxes, 
with fine white sugar between every layer. 

Walnut Creams. —One cup granulated sugar, one-half cup hot water; 
boil like mad two or three minutes or until it jellies in water; cool it 
(almost), beat it very fast until it creams; spread on a platter, halve and 
put on -walnuts. This cream is same as chocolate cream. Chocolate for 
cream as follows: One ounce or ODe square Baker’s chocolate in a bowl over 
the teakettle and melt; add one teaspoonful pulverized sugar, a piece of 
butter size of a walnut with the salt washed out; dip the balls of cream into 
this and dry on sheets of paper. The above directions make forty drops, or 
cream for one pound walnuts. 





COOKING RECIPE S. U1 

Peppermint Drop:?—The best peppermint drops are made by sifting 
finely powdered loaf sugar in lemon juice, sufficient to make it of a proper 
consistence; then, gently drying it over the fire a few minutes, and stirring 
in about fifteen drops of oil of peppermint for each ounce of sugar, dropping 
them from the point of a knife. Some persons, irstead of using lemon juice, 
merely mix up the sugar and oil of peppermint with the whites of eggs; 
beating the whole well together, dropping it on white paper, and drying the 
drops gradually before the fire, at a distance. 

Pop-Corn Balls. —Take a three-gallon pan and fill it nearly level full 
of popped corn, and then take a cup of molasses and a little piece of butter 
and boil until it will set, or try it in cold water; just a drop will do in water, 
and if it sets, then pour the molasses all around on the corn. Then take a 
large iron spoon and stir well; when well mixed, butter your hands well 
and take corn in both hands, as much as you can press well together, and 
you will have a large and splendid ball. You can use sugar in the place of 
molasses if you wish it. 

To Sugar or Crystalline Pop Corn. —Put into an iron kettle one table¬ 
spoonful of water, and one teacup of white sugar; boil until ready to candy, 
then throw in three quarts of corn nicely popped; stir briskly until the 
candy is evenly distributed over the corn; set the kettle from the fire, and 
stir until it is cooled a little and you have each grain separate and crys¬ 
tallized with the sugar; care should be taken not to have too hot a fire lest 
you scorch the com when crystallizing. Nuts of any kind prepared this way 
are delicious. 

Walnut Candy. —The meats of hickory nuts, English walnuts, or black 
walnuts may be used according to preference in that regard. After removal 
from the shells in as large pieces as practicable, they are to be placed on 
bottom of tins, previously greased, to the depth of about a half inch. Next 
boil two pounds of brown sugar, a half pint of water and one gill of good 
molasses until a portion of the mass hardens when cooled. Pour the hot 
candy on the meats and allow it to remain until hard. 

Almond Candy. —Take one pound of sugar and about half a pint of 
water; put in part of the white of an egg to clarify the sugar; let this boil a 
few minutes, and remove any scum that rises. When the sugar begins to 
candy drop in the dry almonds; first, however, you should blanch the nuts 
by pouring hot water over them, and letting them stand in it a few minutes; 
then the skin will slip off readily. Spread the candy on buttered plates to 
cool. 

Sugar Taffy. —One pound sugar put in a pan with half tumbler cold 
water, add one teaspoonful cream tartar, lump of butter size of hickory nut, 
one teaspoonful vinegar (do not stir at all), boil slowly twenty-five minutes, 
and drop a little into cold water, and if crispy it is done; turn on to plates 
and pour on flavoring—lemon and vanilla, half each—pull till very white. 

Butter Scotch— Take two cups of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of water, 
piece of butter the size of an egg. Boil without stirring until it hardens on 
a spoon. Pour out on buttered plates to cool. 

Chocolate Candy— 0«ne cup brown sugar, one cup white, one cup 
molasses, one cup milk, one cup chocolate, butter the size of a walnut. 


348 THE IT0 USEtTO Li). 

Lemon Drops. —Squeeze the juice of six lemons into a basin; pound 
some lump sugar, and sift it through a fine sieve, mix it with the lemon 
juice, and make it so thick that you can hardly stir it. Put it into a stew 
pan, and stir it over the fire for five minutes, then drop cut of a teaspoon on 
writing paper, and let it stand till cold. 

Candied Lemon Peel. —Peel some fine lemons, with all the inner pulp, 
in halves or quarters; have ready a very strong syrup of white sugar and 
water; put the peels into it, and keep them boiling till the syrup is nearly 
reduced. Take them out and set them to dry with the outer peel down¬ 
ward. 

Cocoanut Candy. —Grate the meat of a cocoanut, and, having ready 
owo pounds of finely sifted sugar (white) and the beaten whites of two eggs, 
also the milk of the nut, mix together and make into little cakes. In a short 
time the candy will be dry enough to eat. 

Candied Orange Peel —Make a very strong syrup of white sugar and 
water; take off the peels from several oranges in halves or quarters, and 
boil them in the syrup till it is nearly reduced. After this take them out 
and set them to dry with the outer skin downward. 

Vanilla Candy. —Three teacups of white or coffee sugar, one and a half 
teacups unskimmed sweet milk to dissolve it; boil till done, and flavor with 
vanilla; after it cools a little, stir until hard and eat when you please. 


LADIES’ FANCY WORK 



Work Table Cover. —This cover if of fawn-colored cloth, ornamented 
elaborately on the ends in application embroidery. The design figures, 
which look dark in the illustration, are applied in broken cloth; on the mid¬ 
dle of each leaf 
of the large mid¬ 
dle application 
figure apply a 
piece of dark- 
brown velvet. 

Edge all the ap¬ 
plied figures 
with ^awn-col¬ 
ored soutache, 
and ornament 
the pieces of vel¬ 
vet besides in 
point Itusse em¬ 
it roidery with 
fawn colored 
saddlers’ silk. 

For the lines of 
the design sew 
on brown sou¬ 
tache in two 
shades. The 
cover is bor¬ 
dered with light 
brown open silk 
fringe an inch 
and a quarter 
wide. B r o av n 
percale lining. 


Imitation 
Coral Hang¬ 
ing Baskets.— 


Take old hoops work table cover. 

Avith the cover¬ 


ing on; bend and tie in any shape desired; tie Avitli Avrapping-twine, with 
ends of the tAvine left one-fourth of an inch long; cover the basket AA’hen 
formed Avith knots or ties about one inch apart all over the basket. Then 
take one half pound of beesAvax, melt it in a shalloAV pan, stir in enough 
Japanese vermilion to get the color you wish, then roll the basket in the 
melted wax until it is covered completely. We have one made in this Avay, 
that has hung exposed to the Aveather for tAVo years, and is still as good as uoav, 































350 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


A Pretty Tidy _The requisites are a hall of number fourteen tidy cot¬ 

ton, and a wooden frame about twenty inches square, with an inch sprig 

driven half down in the cen¬ 
ter of each corner, and simi¬ 
lar ones along the sides in 
line with these, and an inch 
apart. 

Fasten your cotton to the 
second side sprig, and weave 
from this sprig to the one di¬ 
rectly opposite, passing 
round each sprig three or 
four times; then draw the 
thread to the next sprig and 

FIG. 1.—blackberry. ' veave in the 8ame manner. 

Continue this until you reach 
the second sprig from the side you are working toward. Now cross these 
threads in the same way from the other two sides, then cross with the same 
number of threads diagonally in both directions. You will then have in 
your frame four warps, each in different directions. With a needle and tidy 
cotton securely fasten as they are every place where four sets of threads in¬ 
tersect, drawing the cotton 
from one to another. Cut 
the cotton at every sprig, 
and it is finished, except 
trimming the fringe a little. 

Made in this way they are 
serviceable, and less work 
than you would think. 

Embroidery Designs. 

—We give a design from 
natural forms (Fig. 1) to 
which the artist has added 
an imaginative edge, al¬ 
though that has the outlines 
of some leaf forms. For 
fi n e delicate needlework 
in pure wliite this forms a 
most graceful design. But, 
where embroidered in the 
colors natural to the leaves 
and fruits, on a boy’s or 
girl’s jacket, stand cloth or 
ottoman cover, on cloth of 
scarlet or gray, is pretty 
enough for the most fastidi¬ 
ous. Moreover, this leads 
you to observe and study 
these things, which from your life-long intimacy with them may have failed 
to specially interest you. 

For an initial letter for the corner of a handkerchief, we give two designs 
(Figs. 2 and 3), which serve the treble purpose of use, ornament, and mem* 






351 


LADIES’ FANCY WO UK. 

orv of delicious fruits. For a gentleman's handkerchief, nothing can be in 
better taste than his initials wrought in such becoming drapery. And so 
through the whole alphabet you can weave something synonymous from 
nature about each letter. Such work flavors of botany, which is a science 
everybody should study. Aside from its being a most delightful study in 
itself, it is the key to a marvelous world of infinite and ever-varying delights; 
it keeps you from going through life with your eyes blinded; it tends to 
make you gentle, large-hearted and thankful. These forms will, or ought 
to, stimulate your pencil for drawing. Drawing cultivates your eye as noth¬ 
ing else will. It educates your hand; it civilizes you generally. Make a 
sketch of anything, and it will ever after possess a new interest. You tread 
on a thousand forms of vegeta¬ 
tion every day. Can you make 
a drawing of one? The fine 
drawing we give would be a 
nice design for a center of a 
pillow sham. 

Persian Rugs Made at 
Home. —It is easy enough after 
you once know how, and, for 
that matter, so is everything 
you undertake. To make a rug 
you will need plenty of perse¬ 
verance, for it is a large con¬ 
tract to make one of ordinary 
size; but it is very pretty work, 
and can be done with ease by 
even those ladies whose failing 
eyesight compels them to give 
up the various fascinating forms 
of fancy work, which are too 
apt to prove a tax to the best of 
eyes. 

Purchase from come carpet 
dealer a supply of scraps of 
tapestry Brussels carpeting; 
pieces that are too small to be 
worked up into hassocks are FIG * 3. —initial letter. 

quite large enough for the purpose. Cut these into strips of any length 
their size allows; but let them be of uniform width, say three inches. Ravel 
these all out, rejecting the linen, and collecting in a box the little crimped 
worsted threads. Then provide yourself with a pair of the largest-sized 
steel knitting-needles, and a ball of the coarsest crochet cotton, either white 
or colored. Set on ten stitches, and after knitting a row or two to make a 
firm beginning, go on as if you were making a garter, but with every other 
stitch lay a thread of the crimped wool across the ueedles. After knitting the 
stitch, take the end of wool which shows upon the wrong side, and turn it 
toward the right side, knitting a stitch above to secure it. Then put in 
another thread of wool and repeat the process. The back of the strips should 
have something the appearauce of that of a body Brussels carpet, while the 
front should be like a sort of thick, long napped plush. The* colors may be 
used without selection, making a sort of diene effect; or carpets may be 






352 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


chosen for raveling which show only shades of scarlet or blue; or brown 
carpets may be used for the center of the rug, and a border of scarlet or blue 
sewed on all around. After doing a little of this work, many ideas as to 
arrangement of colors will suggest themselves, and a little practice will en¬ 
able the knitter to produce some very pleasing results. 

When the strips are all finished they must be sewed together at the back. 
It is only for convenience that they are knitted in strips—the rug, as a whole, 
would be very cumbersome and unwieldy to handle. Some ladies edge a 
Brussels or velvet carpet hearth-rug with a strip of this knitting, thus giving 
a very pretty finish. Small mats for placing in front of bureaus are also 
very pretty made upon the same plan. 

Work: Basket. —The basket is of fine wicker-work, the sides are lined 
with gathered satin, and the bottom with embroidered plush; both are fin- 









WORK BASKET. 


ished with silk cord. The outside is ornamented with fringe of crewels of j 
various colors. Handles of cord. 

Crocket Macrame Titly—Use seine cord No. 8. 

Crochet 57 chain stitches. 

1st row.—rut thread over hook and crochet in first loop, and so on until 
you have made 9 single shell stitches. Crochet 7 chain, shell 9, chain 7, 
shell 9, chain 7, shell 9. ♦£* 

2d row.—Turn, chain 3, shell 9 on top of the last made in the first row, 
chain 9, shell 9, chain 9, shell 9, chain 9, shell 9. \ 

3d row.—Turn, chain 3, then same as last row only making 7 chain in- v 
stead of 9. 

4th row.—Turn, chain 3, shell 9, chain 5, place the hook in the fifth stitch 
of the chain in the 2d row; secure the chain of 7 in with it, chain 4, shell 9, 
and so on to the end of the row. 

Begin again at the beginning and crochet the desired length. Finish all 
around with scallop, with fringe across the lower edge. Bun satin ribbon 1 ' 
through the openings to match your room, 
























LADIES’ FANCY WORK. 


353 


A Home-Made H assorts-—Hassocks, or footstools, aro convenient for 
many purposes. Well, let me tell you how easily you cau make one out of 
articles that one considers only lumber, and are often at a loss to know what 
to do with. Take seven tin fruit cans, put one in the middle, and the other 
six around it; draw around this a band of unbleached muslin and fasten it 
so as to keep them firmly in place; set them on a piece of paper and cut a 
pattern of the bottom, which then cut in heavy pasteboard. Cover this with 
gray paper muslin for the bottom, as it slips better than anything else. Cut 
out of cretonne a similar-shaped piece for the top, also a band to fit the 



PILLOW SHAM. 


sides; cord the top piece around the edge, and sew on the band. Stuff the 
cans with hav or excelsior, and let it be good and thick on top of the cans, 
also, as it will pack in a little while. Draw your cretonne over it, and sew 
firmly to the bottom, and you have your hassock to use on the porch in 
summer, or as a footstool before the fire. It is strong as well as vciy light, 
and can be moved easily with the foot. 

Pillow Sixain. —Made of linen. Tho edges cut out like design, turned 
in and basted, then tho lace overhanded on, making sure to have it full 
enough on the points; cut a long buttonhole in the end of each point, and 
run colored ribbons through. It is easily made and the eftect is \eiy 
pretty. 














354 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 




Clothes Brasil Holder —The basket is of very fine wicker, in the form 
of a cone: it is ornamented with an embroidered drape, which may either 

he finished with a narrow furniture gimp or tufts 
of crewel; the bottom is covered with silk, which is 
drawn to a point at the end and finished by a tassel; 
the top is ornamented with two woolen tassels and 
a rosette. 

Table Covers, Etc. —A rich and handsome 
cover may be made ot aida canvas, either square 
or in scarf style, with a wine-colored plush square 
in the center, fastened on with leather stitching in 
yellow floss. The edge 
of canvas should be 
raveled out and knotted 
into fringe, about three 
inches from which 
feather-stitch a band of 
plush, and above this 
may be a design worked 
in crewels if it is a scarf, 
or, if square, in each 
corner. 

“ Crazy silk patch- 
work ” bands are much 
used for decorating ta¬ 
ble covers, curtains and 
chair covers. The 
pieces must be small 
and of elegant silk, 
satin and velvet. 

A simple and pretty 
table cover for a bed¬ 
room lamp-stand may 
be made of pale blue 
canton flannel trimmed 
with antique lace or 
with black velvet rib- 
b o n , feather-stitched 
on with yellow floss, 
and the edge finished 
with a fringe of blue 
worsted tied in. One similar to this made of 
cardinal all-wool canvas or basket flannel is 
pretty for the sitting-room. 

Neat and pretty bureau or wash stand covers 
are made of scrim or dotted muslin in scarf 
shape, trimmed with deep lace and lined with 
pink or blue silesia. 

Serviceable and pretty covers for the sofa no. 2.— back of no. 1. 
pillow and chair cushions in the sitting-room are 

made of the striped or plaid turkish towels, which are so inexpensive and vefck 
pleasing to the eye. The prettiest pillow shams used are those made of four I 


NO. 1.—CLOTHES BRUSH 
HOLDER. 







LADIES’ DANCY WORK. 355 

small hem-stitclied handkerchiefs, joined ^yith lace insertion, finished with a 
trill of lace, and lined to match the other appointments of the room. They 
need not be made of expensive handkerchiefs; the thinner the better. For¬ 
tunate are those who possess one of those large wicker or rattan chairs, as they 
may be decorated so hand¬ 
somely with colored satin 
ribbon, run in and tied in 
bows, or a handsome scarf 
about twelve inches wide, 
and long enough to hang 
over the back and go down 
>r the hack and seat, and hang 
over the seat a little. It may 
be made of a strip of plush in 
the center, and a strip of 
embroidery in crewel work 
on felt, satin, momie cloth 
or canvas of some contrast¬ 
ing color, or worsted work. 

Line and join the seams 
> with fancy stitches in silk, 
and finish the ends with 
fringe. Another handsome 
decoration of a rocker would 
y be a cushion covered with 
plush or embroidered can¬ 
vas. Put a puff of satin 
around the edge, and cover 
the seam with small che¬ 
nille cord. A pillow roll for 
the head-rest at the back 
| should be made to match, 
and tied on with ribbons. 

Double-faced canton flannel 
I in wine color and olive green 
is much used for lambre¬ 
quins, table covers, curtains 
for archways and double¬ 
doorways, and also for win¬ 
dows, but it may fade when 
brought insuchclose contact 
with the sun and light. The 
, trimming is usually a band 
of old gold, feather-stitched 
on, and the edge is finished 
'with fringe or a hem. 

Hanging Basket.— 

The basket is wicker-work, 

-and the band at the top is 

of light blue cloth four inches deep, with a scalloped piece a darker shade 
over it. The long stitches on the dark cloth are of the lightest shade of blue 
silk, with a silver thread running with it. Through the wickers run satin 



HANGING BASKET. 









































356 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 

ribbon. Combine the two shades of blue in the tassels, with the silver 
wound round the tops of them. Heavy cord and tassels to hang it up by. 
The same design of trimming will answer for any shaped basket. 



Ornamental Scrap Bag or Basket —This basket, to hang against the 
wall, is composed of cardboard, covered with gray linen, embi*oidered with 
brown wool, and fastened in a cane stand. Cut out first a piece of card¬ 
board for the back and the bottom, and five pieces for the front. Bind them 
with a crossway strip of gray linen, cover them with gray linen, and work on 
the outside with brown wool the design in point russe, the stitches being 
taken through the cardboard. Then line the pieces with linen and sew them 


ORNAMENTAL SCRAP BAG. 1 

together. Next prepare five pieces of thin cane, four and one-half inches 
long, for the edges of the back, and five four and one-half inches long, five | 
four inches long, and six five inches long, for the front of the basket. Ai* 
one-half inch from the ends cut a little hollow in the canes, and then fit j 
them to each other and tie them together, first with strong thread and then 
with brown ribbon, according to illustration, and secure the basket into the j 
stand. For the cover, cut a piece of cardboard according to the shape of the j 
upper part of the back, doubled. Cut it in half through along the center* 
cover the side on which you made the incision with linen, and work on one-! 
half of the design seen in illustration to the back of the basket, double* 
the cover, sew the edge of the linen together, and sew on a cord, 

i 
















357 


LADIES' FANCY WORK. 





leaving a loop in the middle. Two brass rings sewn at the back serve 
to hang up the 
basket. 

Toilet Pin¬ 
cushion. — The 

foundation is a 
square o f lining 
about seven 
inches, s t u ff e d 
with sawdust; it is 
covered with plain 
satin; satin rib¬ 
bon of a contrast¬ 
ing color is folded 

into points, and toilet pincushion. 

disposed accord¬ 
ing to design; tassels ornament the corners; a square of fine Irish linen, six 

inches when hemmed (the hem 
one inch deep), is placed corner- 
wise over the cushion; this square 
i s ornamented w i t h d r a w n 
threads and cross-stitch em¬ 
broidery in silk the color of the 
satin. 


Needle Cushion. —Wo give a 
design for a needle cushion, the 
frame of which can be made of 
rustic work. The leet can be 
connected by a chain, as the 
sketch indicates. The cushion 
can be filled with emery and or • 
Lamented with any kind of needle-work that may suit the fancy. Tho edge 
may be ornamented with fringe, 
gimp, o r other convenient and 
suitable material. 


NEEDLE CUSHION. 


Pen Wiper. —Twelve disks of 
cloth of various colors are edged 
with crystal beads. The rounds 
hiay be of any size wished, accord¬ 
ing as the pen wiper is required, 
ji large or small. They are then 
g folded in four, and fastened to¬ 
ft &ether in the center with a few 
.)) stitches of strong silk. 

Wheat Ear Edging. —Cast 

lit 

e tm five stitches. 1. Two plain 
Stitches; thread over, one plain, 
-bread over twice and purl two 
■ together. 2. Thread over twice, 
[purl two together, four plain. 3. Knit 


PEN WIPER. 

three plain, thread over one, plain, 






























358 


THE II OUSE ROLL. 


thread over twice, purl two together. 4. Over twice, purl two together, five 
plain. 5. Knit four plain, over, one plain, over twice, purl two together. 
6. Over tw ice, purl two together, six plain. 7. Knit six plain, thread over 
twice, purl tw-o together. 8. Over twice, purl five together, three plain; 
then commence again at first row. 


Music Portfolio and Stand- —This stand, as w-e illustrate it, is made of 
turned wood, with a portfolio made of pasteboard, covered with a design of 
needle-work. Music stands of this sort are very convenient, as every 
musical family knows; but sueh a stand can be made as well, look as appro- 



HUSIC PORTFOLIO AND STAND. 


priate and perhaps more ornamental, if made of rustic work. The w r oods, ■ 
and often even the wood-pile, will afford abundant material for its manufac- ’ 
ture, and when made by ingenious and loving hands, renders it, though of 
homely and inexpensive materials, nearly priceless in value. 

Basket for Fruit. —Pretty baskets for serving large fruit for luncheon* 
are easily made. Take four pieces of cardboard and cover with any material, 
preferred, and on each piece work or paint the flower of the fruit w r hich the{ 
basket will contain. Fasten the pieces together by a knotted cord. Overj 
the fruit throw a square of delicate macrame lace. 























LA DIES ’ FA NV Y WO 11K. 


350 


A Leisoii in Decorating. —Choose a plain, smooth, red-clay flower-pot. 
If it is rather stupid-looking all the better. With your box of water-color 
paints, lay broad bands of dull blue around top and bottom. If you prefer, 
you can paint the intervening strip black, instead of leaving it red, and tlio 
bands may be divided by a narrow lino of yellow. Now you are ready for 
the pictures. If you possess some sheets of little scrap-chromos, you will 
soon be rid of your task. Select some very odd, grotesque ones, that will 
surprise each other as much as possible—a huge butterfly, tiny Madonna, 
reptiles, sprays, zebras, and the like. Paste them on in the most disorderly 
order you can imagine, and your work is complete. Another method is to 
. cut from picture papers a quantity of small designs, being careful to trim 
them very neatly. Paint these all black, and lay on a dull red or blue 
ground. Whichever plan you choose, bo careful and not decorate too pro¬ 
fusely, as that would be quite unlike the Japanese, while it would hint most 
strikingly of a merry, mischievous little girl. 

Fancy Card Basket. —The foundation of this basket is of wire, and it 
is lined with quilted satin. The drapes are of cloth pinked at the edges and 
embroidered with silk. 



FANCY CARD BASKET. 


Antique Lace. —Cast on fifteen stitches. 

1. Knit three, over, narrow, knit three, over, knit one, over, knit six. 

2. Knit six, over, knit three, over, narrow, knit three, over, narrow, knit 

one. 

3. Knit three, over, narrow, narrow again, over, knit five, Over, knit six. 

4. Cast off four, knit one, over, narrow, knit three, narrow, over, narrow, 
knit one, over, narrow, knit one. 

5. Knit three, over, narrow, knit one, over, narrow, knit one, narrow, 
over, knit three. 

6. Knit three, over, knit one, over, slip two, knit one, pass the slipped 
stitches over the knitted one, over, knit four, over, narrow, knit one, begin 
again from the first row. 

How to Make a Screen.—The accompanying illustration is that of a 
beautiful but expensive screen, which, however, may serve as a guide in the 
making of a much cheaper one. The frame-work of this is of carved wood, 
the screen itself of embroidered silk, covered with sheer white muslin, with 

















360 


TIIK II 0 US EII OLD. 


a plaited edge, which is put over the silk for protection. The height and 
width of a screen may vary, of course, according to the size of the heater or 

grate, and may consist of one piece 
as in the illustration, or of two, 
three, or half a dozen, joined by 
by hinges and resembling the con¬ 
struction of cloth bars. Black 
walnut is a handsome wood of 
which to make the frame, Avhicli 
may be fashioned plainly or orna¬ 
mented to one’s taste; but if that 
be to expensive, a cheaper wood 
may be employed, and stained to 
imitate something better. Cherry 
is again growing into great favor, 
and nothing could be prettier than 
a frame made of that. 

For the shade or screen proper 
a great variety of materials may 
be used. For convenience, make 
a light frame (like those over 
which mosquito netting is drawn 
for windows), which will neatly 
fit inside the other; over this 
stretch smoothly and nail a piece 
of strong muslin or canvas, as the ground work for the ornamentation; in 
lieu of this tin might be used; wood is too much warped by the action of the 
heat. The canvas may be covered with gay-colored chintz, at twelve and a 
half cents per yard, or handsome cretonne 
at sixty cents, or brocaded silk, painted satin, 
or a large fine print or engraving or embroid¬ 
ered cardboard or canvas—almost anything 
one’s fancy may devise. 

A very showy screen recently seen on 
exhibition had a black background on which 
was pasted all sorts, sizes, colors, and kinds 
of cheap prints, carefully cut out and applied 
without any regularity of design, and then 
the whole heavily varnished. The effect Avas 
very gay and sparkling. Pressed ferns and 
autumn leaves, artistically arranged on a 
white or light background, or even black 
look finely; the back of the leaves should be 
Avell touched Avitli mucilage, so as to adhere 
firmly. For a black background, velveteen, 
or plain black paper, to be had AAirere wall 
paper is sold, are good. 

Slipper Case. —Cut two pieces of card¬ 
board the size desired; cover them Avith 
momie cloth. Then cut of cardboard a smaller piece for the pocket; cover 
it on one side Avith the cloth, and fasten it in the center of one of the large 
pieces; then finish Avhere it is joined with a Avorsted cord. Overhand the 
































LADIES' FANCY WORK. 3d 

twc large pieces together, and sew the cord all around the edge. To hang 
it, sew on two large brass rings at the back of the two top-side scallops. 

A Handsome Lace Spread—Wifch forethought and some money one 
can easily make a beautiful set of pillow shams and spreads without any 
great expense. From time to time buy, as you see those which please you 
and are cheap, squares of antique lace; they come in all kinds of pretty de¬ 
signs. Choose those of uniform size and of the same quality. When you 
have enough set them together with a stripe of satin. Remnants of satin can 
be purchased sometimes at very low figures. For a border, catch the 
squares together diagonally and fit it in half squares of the satin. Put the 
edge of the lace squares over the satin, having first taken the precaution to 
o\ eicast very delicately the edges of the satin. The spread may be lined or 
not, as you please. The pillow covers 
should be made to match. With proper 
care a set of this land will last a long 
time, and when one considers the com¬ 
fort of always having a handsome cover¬ 
ing for the bed at hand to dress it up for 
great occasions, the outlay of time and 
money does not appear to have been 
wasted. 

Hanging Card-Receiver and 
Watch. Case. —Take two pieces of card, 
ten inches long and three and one-half 
inches wide,, and cut the ends pointed as 
the design shows. Cover both pieces 
with velvet or silk, and embroider a vine 
of flowers on one end, or if preferred 
paint in water colors. Overhand the two 
pieces together and finish the edge with 
gilt cord. Make a ring of twisted cord at 
the top. Bend the card up at three inches 
to form the rack, and fasten at the sides 
with cord and tassels. Twist a large hook 
with gilt wire and sew an inch below 
the ring at the top, for the watch. 

To Prepare Skeleton Leaves.— A CABD-RECEIVER AND WATCH CASE, 
ready method of preparing skeleton 

leaves is the following: Make a solution of concentrated lye in hot water, in 
the proportion of about two ounces of lye to a quart of Avater; or, if this is 
not convenient, prepare the lye by dissolving four ounces of common wash¬ 
ing soda in a quart of water, adding about tAvo ounces of fresh quick lime, 
boiling for about a quarter of an hour, and Avhen cool decanting the liquid 
from the sediment. Place the leaves in this solution, and alloAv it to boil for 
about an hour, or until by trial the pulpy part of one of the leaves alloAA s 
itself to be readily removed. When this is the case, the leaves are carefully 
removed, one by one, floated on a sheet of glass, and the pulp is removed 
by gently tapping or beating with a painter’s stiff brush, or the like, taking 
care not to apply a rubbing motion, Avliich would destroy the fibres as well. 
From time to time the disintegrated pulp should be Avashed aAvay by alloAv- 
ing a stream of Avater to Hoav on the glass. When this operation has been 

















T UE n O US E II 0 L 1) . 


3«2 




properly performed, notbiug of flic leaf remains behind but the network of 

fibres, or the skeleton. 
The next step is to 
bleach the skeleton 
leaves, which is easily 
done by placing them 
iu a shallow dish of 
water, to which a small 
quantity of chloride of 
lime has been added 
(say about a teaspoon¬ 
ful to a quart). In a 
day or two, at most, the 
fibres will be found 
bleached to a pure 
white, when they should 
be removed to a vessel 
of fresh water for final 
cleansing, iu which they 
should remain for an¬ 
other day. From this 

toilet bottle case.—FIG. 1. they should b e re¬ 

moved, placed between 

the folds of a soft linen cloth, and allowed to dry; they are then ready to be 
pressed, curled, or arranged into ornamental designs, 
according to fancy. 

Another method of disintegrating the puli) of the 
leaves, which is sometimes followed, is to place them in 
a dish of water, keeping them beneath the water by the 
use of a sheet of glass, and exposing them to the sun¬ 
light. The disintegration takes place slowly, requiring 
two weeks or thereabouts to complete it. The subse¬ 
quent operations are the same as those above described. 


Toilet Bottle Case.—The case is made on a circular 
foundation of cardboard, four inches wide, lined with 
black silk and covered with black cloth Vandykes round 
the edge. The latter is embroidered in satin overcast 
and feather stitch (see Fig. 2). The flowers are worked 
alternately in white and blue, the rosebuds with pink, 
and the wheat ears with maize silk. The branches and 
sprays are worked with several shades of olive and fawn- 
colored silk. On this foundation is seAvn a cylindrical 
case of cardboard, two and a half inches high, and lined 
within and without with black satin. Two box-plaited 
ruchings of satin are arranged round it, and above these 
is a Vandyke strip of black cloth embroidered in the 
same designs and colors as above described. 


TOILET BOTTLE 
CASE.—FIG. 2. 


Parlor Ornament. —Purchase a plain Indian straw 
basket, one of neat manufacture and pretty shape; paint 
it black; this gives an effective background for the fruit designs painted on 
the sides and ends; line the basket with brightly tinted velvet, cover the 



LADIES' FANCY WO IiK. 


3(53 


handle with silver or gold cord; the same should run along the edges of the 
opening. This dainty piece of home art forms a lovely card basket. A 
common straw hat, a size to lit a boy of six years, can be made into an 
artistic novelty. Face the brim with satin nicely pleated; fill the crown 
with artificial flowers; secure them from tumbling out by long loops of 
threads; suspend the hat from the top of a cabinet or music stand; the effect 
is very bright and pleasing. Industrious fingers willing to devote time to the 
manipulation of home decoration may shape out many lovely things from 
bits of silk, satin, velvet, and scraps of all wool goods. The top of a table 
covered with work of this kind is very handsome, and a like decoration for 
a carved bracket is 
remarkably showy. 

Catch-All. —The 

frame-work of this 
article is made of 
pieces of cardboard 
sewed together The 
materials required 
for the outside are 
drab Holland cre¬ 
tonne, flowers, fancy 
braid, and worsteds 
to match flowers in 
color. A cord i s 
drawn through eye¬ 
let holes at the top 
of the bag, and a 
large tassel of wor¬ 
sted finishes the bot¬ 
tom. 

A Rosette. — 

Rosettes are often 
useful in tidies, bor¬ 
ders and the like. 

To make the above, 
begin with a chain 
of four stitches, and 
unite in a ring. In 
this loop work twenty 
trebles. 

Second round.— catch all. 

Work one chain and 

one treble over each treble of the last round. Third round.—* On the treble 
and next chain make a leaf thus: The cotton twice round the needle, take up 
the stitch, work through two, cotton on the needle, draw through two; cot¬ 
ton on the needle, take up the stitch again, work through two, cotton on tho 
needle, work through two; cotton on the needle, take up the next stitch, and 
work all off the needle, two loops at a time; then four chain. Repeat from *. 
Fourth round.—One DC on the middle of the four chain, * five chain, 
one DC on the middle of tho next four chain; repeat from *, Fasten off 
neatly at tho end of the round. 



364 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 



Ottoman— Materials: Wine and canary-colored cloth, heavy cord and 
tassels. Make a cushion of ticking a foot square, fill it tightly with curled 

hair, then make a case of 
the wine-colored cloth, 
and in the seam round 
the edge of the case full 
in one edge of the piece 
to form the puff, then turn 
it up, and turn in the 
upper edge and box-plait 
it, and sew firmly on the 
top of the case, leaving a 
space in the center nine 
inches square. Cut of the 
light cloth a piece for the 
center like the design, 
and braid it with gilt, 
ottoman. red, blue, and black 

braids, having the edge 
of the star pinked. Fasten it to the cushion in each point with a large bead, 
and finish each corner with a tassel. Draw the cord round the ottoman 
firmly, and tie in a knot, leaving a loop in the center to lift it by. 



Toilet or Work Basket. —Use black, polished, round wooden or bamboo 
rods, an inch in circumference, 
two thin plates of wood four 
inches long and two and three- 
fifths inches wide, white satin, 
green velours, shaded green, 
pink, purple, and brown twist 
silk, fine gold cord, green silk 
ribbon one-fifth of an inch wide, 
four white Yenetian beads, four 
bronze rings, stout cardboard, 
small steel tacks, white sewing 
silk. 

The frame of our model is 
constructed of four pillar-like 
rods, each eight inches long, and 
holding between them two 
boxes, each consisting of eight 
wooden or bamboo rods, and a 
thin wood bottom four inches 
long, and two and three-fifths 
inches wide. The lower box, 
which is one and four-fifths 
inches high, requires four rods 

five and three-fifths inches long, toilet or work basket. 

and four rods four and one-fifth 

inches long. The upper box, which is two and one-fifth inches high, is of 
exactly the same size at the bottom, while for the top, which curves out¬ 
ward, the two long rods must be each six inches long, while the cross rods 
require a length of five and one-fifth inches. Small steel tacks connect the 





LADIES' FANCY WORK. 


365 


various parts, those which are arranged into squares being notched where 
they intersect. Each of these squares encloses a pasteboard box covered 
with green velours on the inside, and on the outside with white satin, deco¬ 
rated by an embroidery of colored silks. The box is fastened at the top to 
rods by means of overhand stitches of gold cord, making the rod appear as 
if twisted with the gold cord. The bows decorating the upper corners of the 
boxes are made of green ribbon, ten inches long, sewed to the rods in the 
middle and then tied. The handle, which is fastened to the upper box by 
means of steel tacks, and is decorated with two ribbon bows, measures fif¬ 
teen inches in length, and is to be wound about with gold cord. The four 
pillars are decorated at their tips by Venetian beads resting on bronze rings. 


Sofa Pillow. —Knitting or crochet. An exceedingly comfortable pillow 
to hang on a chair-back or to use when traveling is well illustrated in the 
cut herewith presented. Knit or crocheted in squares of different colors, 



CROCHET SOFA PILLOW OR BOLSTER. 


almost any stitch may be used, according to the fancy of the workers, and 
when stuffed and finished, with cord and tassels for the ends, and hung on 
the back of the “ old rocking chair,” it forms no mean addition to the com¬ 
fort and ornamentation of a room. The predominant colors ot tho room will 
suggest the appropriate ones to be used, but should there be no decided 
color prevailing, a pillow made of alternate dark red and olive squares 
will be found -both handsome and durable, as far as showing dust or soil 
from the head. 

Plu'ili Mosaic.—The designs for this new and beautiful work can be pur¬ 
chased all ready prepared for use; but as mauy would like to try it who 
may find it difficult to procure them, they can, by following the given direc¬ 
tions, cut and arrange their own. One best suited to it is a border of autumn 
leaves, as the rich, variegated colors can be very effectively rendered in 
gold, crimson, brown and green. Maple leaves are prettiest, both in form 
ana color, and the size should be varied, some large, others small, arrang¬ 
ing them as a border. If possible, select several of the natural leaves, and 
cut the exact pattern in paper. The plush may bo purchased in small quan- 






the household. 


3Gf, 

tities, an eighth of a yard of each color sufficing for a number of leaves. Lay 
the paper patterns on the plush and cut with a pair of sharp scissors leaves 
from the different colors. The groundwork is of plush; for instance, a scarf 
for the top of an upright piano may be of olive plush with a lining of cardinal 
satin, and a border of autumn leaves. These should be prettily arranged 
across the ends of the scarf, and each leaf basted to keep it in place. The 
edges are fastened down with tinsel or gold thread, and as it sinks into the 
soft plush, shows only a slight, glistening outline. The stems should be 
worked with silk matching the different shades of the leaves. The veining 
of the leaves is also worked with the same color of silk, and as it makes only 
a slight depression or crease in the plush, gives a very pretty natural effect. 
The leaves can be shaded by using different shades of plush. For instance, 
one-half of a leaf may be light crimson, the other a shade or two darker; or 
the point of a leaf may be turned over, showing light green against dark. 
Arranging them in this way gives variety, also less stiffness of design. 



HANDKKRCniEF BOS. 


These same plush designs may be used on sateen or cloth, although in this 
case the term “ mosaic” would not bo applied. The design described would, 
however, be very pretty arranged on a ground-work of either of these ma¬ 
terials. This work is very beautiful for table covers, lambrequins, portieres 
or any large article that may require a decorative border. 

Handkerchief Box. —Take a fancy letter-paper box that is square, and 
opens in the center; make a tufted cushion of satin on the top, and put an 
insertion of white lace around it with the same color underneath. If careful, 
with a very little glue, the sides can be covered with satin, finishing the 
edges with a silver or gilt cord. Complete the box by placing a little per¬ 
fume sachet inside. This makes a pretty present and is not expensive, as 
often small pieces of silk will answer the purpose of covering. 

Knitted Insertions. —No. 1, Twist pattern—Cast ou six stitches for each 
pattern. First six rows: Plain. Seventh row: Slip three loops on a spare 
needle, leave them and knit the next thi'ee; then knit those on the spare 
needle. Repeat these seven rows. No. 2, Feather Pattern—Cast on twenty- 































LADIES' FANCY WORK. 367 

In o stitches tor each pattern. First row: Knit two together four times; then 
over and one plain eight times; then knit two together four times, and purl 
the last stitch. Second, third, and tonrth rows: Plain. Repeat from first row. 

Wall Pocket. We give herewith an illustration of a wall-pocket, which 
is ornamental and useful. It may be used for visiting cards, letters, papers, 
sewing-materials, slippers, and various odds and ends. Almost any kind ol' 



material may be used, but something bright has more attractiveness. The 
one the drawing was made from was of silk, of blue silk, lined with corn 
color, with cord of blue and gold, and with raised embroidery in silk. The 
framework is cut from stiff paper. When designed with especial reference 
to slippers, the pocket is cut quite in the shape of a slipper, with a loop at 
the heel, from which it is hung. For Christmas gifts they form pretty ob¬ 
jects for devoted fingers to manufacture. 

Floral Transparency— The pretty transparency represented on next 
page is made by arranging pressed ferns, grasses, and autumn leaves on a 





















368 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 



pane of window-glass, which should bo obscured, laying another transparent 
pane of the same size over it, and binding the edges with ribbon, leaving the 
group imprisoned between (use gum tragacanth in putting on the binding). 
It is well to secure a narrow strip of paper under the ribbon. The binding 
should be gummed all around the edge of the first pane, and dried befoie 
the leaves, ferns, etc., are arranged; then it can be neatly folded over the 
second pane without difficulty. To form the loop for hanging the trans- 
parency, paste a binding of galloon along the upper edge, leaving a two-inch 
loop free in the center, afterward to be pulled through a little slit in the final 
binding. These transparencies may either be hung before a window, or, 

if preferred, secured 
against a pane in the 
sash. In country halls 
a beautiful effect is pro¬ 
duced by placing them 
against the side-lights of 
the hall door. Where 
the side-lights are each 
of only a single pane, it 
is well worth while to 
place a single trans¬ 
parency against each, 
filling up the entire 
space, thus affording 
ample scope for a free 
arrangement of the ferns, 
grasses, and leaves, 
.while the effect of the 
light is very fine. Leaves 
so arranged will pre¬ 
serve their beaxitiful ap¬ 
pearance throughout the 
entire winter. 

Flower Patterns 
for Embroidery.— 

Great taste can be dis¬ 
played in selecting ap¬ 
propriate flower patterns 
for an embroidered de- 
florax transparency. sign. The double and 

single hyacinths, com¬ 
bined with a tulip, give a lovely effect. The fine dark blue of the former 
and the scarlet-margined yellow of the latter show to splendid advantage on 
black velvet or deep brown satin. White and purple lilacs mixed with tho 
gold and yellow crocus give a striking design for floss and bead needlework, 
on a dark brown of some rich goods. The light blue crocus, with its pretty 
tippings of snow r white, combines richly with the double red anemone, a de¬ 
sign well suited for a center-piece on a table or a piano cover. The border 
would look handsome worked in some sort of creeping plant, with the cor¬ 
ners finished oft' in star anemones clustered with autumn leaves. The Belle 
Laura tulip is of a lovely violet lmo enhanced in beauty by the mixture of 
white; this flower is very effective in largo pieces of embroidery with a touch 




















369 


LADIES' FAKCY WORK. 

of brilliant green foliage. A cluster of oxalis, with their brilliant hues and 
dark green leaves, give a charming effect. Combined with pansies, this de¬ 
sign is a lovely pattern for the center of a sofa pillowy the border should be 
worked in buds and smilax. A bunch of heliotrope wrought in silk and 
worsted on black velvet gives a handsome design for applique work on satin 
to be used for various decorative effects in upholstery. The best and most 
correct designs in flowers are made from the natural plants. The tints are 
easily matched in silk and worsted, and even in beads the various colors are 
given. 


Lamp Shade — Materials: Three sheets of tissue paper, each one a 
shade darker than the other; six fancy colored pictures, one-eighth yard of 
white tarlatan, and one sheet of gilt paper. Cut six pieces of cardboard the 
shape of pattern, cover them with the tarlatan, then glue the gilt paper on 



LAMP SHADE. 


one side of each, just turning it over the edges. Then cut of the tissue paper 
square pieces the size of pattern; fold them across from corner to corner; 
then fold again, and run the four edges together and draw up tightly, form¬ 
ing the leaves. Sew them on as seen in the design, putting in the different 
shades. Fasten each section of the shade together by just tying at the top 
and bottom w r ith coarse, waxed thread. Glue a fancy picture in the center 
of each section. 


Quilt Lining. —A handsome lining for a fancy silk quilt is made of plain 
surah silk, or, if that is too expensive, plain soft cashmere of a pretty color 
serves very nicely. It is often a question how the lining shall be tacked to 
the outside without marring its beauty. A very pretty way is to first baste 
the outside carefully on the lining—then divide the lining into squares, 
marking the corners of each square with a thread. A pretty star may then 
be embroidered at every point, catching the two sides together, but taking 
care that the stitches do not show on the right side, A. cardinal lining with 





THE 11 OUSE 110 LI). 


370 




GLOVE BOX AND COVER. 


stars embroidered in yellow silk is quite showy. A darker or lighter shade 

of the same color as the lin¬ 
ing used for the stars makes 
a tasteful combination. 

Glove Box and Cover. 

—A glove box of the kind we 
illustrate may be cut and 
made from a large paper 
box. After the edges are 
neatly sewed, paste neatly 
over the outside a cover of 
white muslin, to make the 
box strong. Line and cover 
both box and cover with 
silk, finishing the edges with 
large silk cord or chenille. 
The outside may be ornamented in a variety of ways. Additional ornamen¬ 
tation may be secured by cutting curves in the sides of the cover. Both 
admit of much ingenuity and display of taste in arrangement and trimming. 
Attached covers are convenient for 
careless users, and much more easily 
trimmed, being simply fastened at the 
back, and lifted and closed like a trunk 
cover. Instead of using silk as a cover¬ 
ing, perforated paper (never get that in 
white, as it soon soils) lain against a 
smooth paper or cloth of a different 
color, and the silver and gold paper, 
perforated with large, square meshes, 
with initials or other ornament wrought 
in chenille, silk, or worsted, may be 
used to advantage*. 


Saeliet. —The sachet is of old-gold 
plush, embroidered with rosebuds and 
leaves, and trimmed Avith lace and bows 
of ribbon. 


Handkerchief Cases.—II for a gen¬ 
tleman, the size of the case Avould be 
eleven inches by eighteen inches, doub¬ 
ling doAvn the center; for a lady, four¬ 
teen inches square; it should be lined 
with silk, and lightly Avadded, the Avad- 
ding being scented. Cut a piece of 
satin, twenty-six inches long, and eleven 
inches broad, and line it Avith fine flan¬ 
nel, and a piece of satin quilted before- sachet. 

hand over it. Turn in the edges all 

round, and scav over neatly; fold the tAvo ends in toward each other, until 
they meet to within about an inch. SeAv over the double edges at the sides, 
and fold up the case. The handkerchiefs slip in on either side, into the two 

































LAD IE S * F A N G Y W ORK. 


371 


pockets thus formed, the plain ones being arranged on one side and the 
fancy ones on the other. These cases are convenient if they are scented, 
which is done by sprinkling sachet on to the flannel before the satin lining 
is added, and with a thin layer of cotton wool above. We may add that the 
satin should be quilted on to a thin piece of lining. We have given the dimen¬ 
sions to allow for turning in. There is another shape made like a large en¬ 
velope. The size and shape must be similar to the other, only the upper 
part which forms the flap to the envelope is brought to a point in the center, 
with each side turned in. A silk cord is sometimes adcled all round the 
sachet, and finished off at the point with a loop, which forms the button-hole, 
while the button is placed on 
the lower side of the case. 

Ladies’ Fancy Bag Purse. 

—The lower part of the purse 
bag is formed of black silk, in 
spider-web lace, lined with 
crimson silk, as also the upper 
part of the bag. Cords of crim¬ 
son silk draw the purse together 
near the top, and tassels are 
placed at each division and one 
at the bottom. 

Crocheted Sliaw 1. — Mate¬ 
rial: Six ounces of Shetland 
wool. 

Make a chain the length of 
the longest edge of the shawl, 
which is three-cornered. The 
chain should be a multiple of 
six. After making the chain * 
throw the thread over the needle 
and catch into the third stitch 
from the needle, draw the 
thread through, thread over, 
draw through two, thread over, 
through two. This is the treble 
crochet stitch. Make eight more 
of these stitches in the same 
chain stitch. Put the needle through the third stitch from the shell and 
draw the thread through this stitch and the one on the needle. This is 
single crochet stitch. Repeat from * to the end of the chain and break the 
thread. 

2. Catch the thread in the middle stitch of the first shell of the preceding 
row. * Make three chain stitches, thread over the needle, put the needle 
through the next stitch to the one in which the thread is fastened, draw 
thread through, thread over, through two; keeping this loop and the former 
one on the needle, put thread over and make the same kind of stitch in the 
next stitch of the shell. Continue in this manner until there are ten stitches 
on the needle, then throw the thread over and draw through all the stitches, 
four chain and single crochet into the middle stitch of the next shell, Repeat 
from * 







372 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


3. Catch the thread in the same stitch as the preceding row and * make 
nine trebles in the middle of the first shell of the second row, single crochet 
into the single crochet at the end of the first shell in second row. Repeat 
from *. 

4. Like second row. 

5. Like third row. 



Scissoi- Case and Needle Cushion. —This is a neat little case intended 
to hang upon the wall near the sewing machine or work table. Our pattern 
is made up of brown silk, and finished with three rows of cords. The cords 
are also stitched on as finish for the pockets, which are sewn on the case 

itself. Cut from the 
illustration a pattern 
in pasteboard and a 
similar one in silk, 
allowing a margin to 
turn in. To make it 
more substantial line 
the silk with thin 
muslin. The back can 
be covered with cam¬ 
bric to match the color 
of the silk. The needle 
cushion measu res 
three inches across, 
lined with muslin, 
and drawn in at the 
edge with a small 
cord to give it the 
proper curve; fill with 
emery, fine sand, or 
wool, if preferred. 

Tnl»le Mats.— 

Make a chain of 
twenty-five stitches. 

DC. all around to 
the beginning a n d 
turn the work. There 

SCISSOR CASE AND NEEDLE CUSHION. ™ one 8 titch Upon the 

hook; put the hook 

back through the last loop through which the cotton was drawn, put the 
cotton over the hook and draw it through that loop alone; then put the cot¬ 
ton over the hook and draw through the two loops upon the hook—DC. the 
row of loops on the back side of the mat to the end. 

Crochet twice in each of the three adjoining loops at the end—DC. to the 
other end. Crochet twice in each of the two adjoining loops at that end, 
bringing the ends of the first row around the mat together. 

Bring the cotton in front of the hook which has upon it one loop, put the 
hook through a loop at the end of this row where it commenced, and draw 
the cotton through the two loops upon the hook joining the row. 

Turn the work over, put the hook back through the last loop that the 
Cotton was drawn through, put the cotton over the hook, draw through that 





LADrksr FANCY WO UK. m 

ioop alone, put the cotton over the hook and draw through the two loops. 
Crochet twice in the first loop of each of the two loops that had two 
stitches put in them. 

Proceed down the side to the other end—crochet twice in the first of each 
of the thiee loops that had two stitches put in them, then go on to the begin- 
ningof the row, join and turn over the mat as before. 

Continue until the mat is of sufficient size. 

For the border pass one loop and make in the second five TC. stitches. 

Pass one loop and fasten down by DC. in the next and so on around the 
mat. 

The length of the chain in the middle of course determines the size of 
the mat. For coffee and tea pots make a chain of six, and fasten together. 
Crochet twice in every stitch 
to start the six points for 
widening. 

The cotton suitable is Dex¬ 
ter’s No. 6 four threads. A 
hook small enough to make it 
very compact should be used. 

The stitches to be crocheted 
all the time are upon the back 
of the mat. 

The mat is worked in 
ribbed (DC.) crochet, the 
hook being placed in the out¬ 
side half of each loop, and 
the work turned at the end of 
each round. The increasings 
are, of course, to turn the 
corners, and the rounds are 
completed by an SC. before 
turning back. 

Hanging Portfolio.— 

This is made of pasteboard, 
covered with gilt or white 
satin paper. It can be of any 
size you wish. It may be left hanging portfolio. 

plain or a picture pasted on 

in front. Lace the sides together with a cord or ribbon. Hang with a cord 
and tassel. This is ornamental and useful for holding small articles. 

Plush Thermometer Frame. —Remove from the tin frame an ordinary 
thermometer, and cut a piece of stiff pasteboard to fit it like a picture frame. 
It should be about two inches wide. Cut a piece of light blue plush to fit 
the frame exactly, and gum it on the back. Draw this smoothly over the 
frame and turn the raw edges of the plush over to the under side of the 
frame. Paint *on the plush a pretty design of golden-rod. Cut a piece of 
pasteboard, exactly the size of the frame, and cover with light-blue silk or 
paper muslin. Overhand the edges of this and the plush together with blue 
sewing silk. Sew across the back a loop by which to hang it, or if it is pre¬ 
ferred standing, fasten securely at the back a long wire, shaped like a hair¬ 
pin. This makes a very good stand. 





































































m 


THE HOUSEHOLD . 



Visiting Card Stand _The frame is made of black varnished rattah, 

hut may he made of wood in the form of rustic work. There are two flat 
plates which may be ornamented to suit by painting. The edges of these 
are hung by bead ornaments. Take a small strip of oil-clotli which fits 
around the edges of the respective plates, measure equal distances, sew 
black jet buttons on and sti’ing bronze beads, thus constructing the first row. 
Then take gold or amber-colored beads and make a second row; the third 
row of white beads. Stick these around the jet buttons to the oil-clotli. 
The four double twisted rows may be made of different colored beads. 
The ends of these can be sewed on to the oil-cloth, and, after they are se¬ 
curely fastened, cut the oil-cloth which shows from under the ornaments, 

and then fasten it to the edges 
of the plates. 


Bag for Knitting- 
Work —Iu these days of 
knitting and crocheting, a 
small pocket or bag is con¬ 
venient to hold the balls of 
wool, silk or cotton, and the 
needles or crochet hooks. 
This knitting-work pocket is 
worn attached to the belt, and 
is made of ecru linen and 
lined with red satin, or any 
other material that one may 
fancy. Cut from each of these 
materials five pieces of the 
following dimensions: Two 
inches wide at the top, not al¬ 
lowing for seams, one-half 
inch wide at the bottom and 
six inches long. These pieces 
are cut so as to bulge out at 
the sides, and are each four 
inches in width at the widest 
part. Embroider the linen in 
any design that you may 
fancy, but it seems desirable 
that this should be in outline stitch, and done with red silk. Join the linen 
pieces so that the seams are on the right side; notch them so that they will 
lie flat, and cover them with red silk braid, cross-stitched with some con¬ 
trasting tone or color. Join the lining and place inside this, and bind the 
top with the same braid and fasten down in the same manner. Work a red 
silk eyelet hole in one of the side pieces to allow the end of the wool you 
are working with to come through. Close the bottom of the bag with a 
bunch of loops of red satin ribbon, and sew an end of the same ribbon at the 
top of each of the seams, joining them together with a bow of the ribbon, 
in which is sewed quite a large shield pin to fasten it to the dress 


VISITING CARD STAND. 


belt. 


Pin-Cusliion. —A pretty little pin-cushion in the shape of a bellows can 
be made as follows: First cut four pieces of cardboard (visiting or invitation 








LADIES' FANCY WORK. 375 


cards are the best), to the size required, and the shape of a small bellows; 
cover these four pieces singly with pretty silk or satin, by turning over the 
edges and lacing them from side to side with a needle and thread to make 
them fit. Then join two pieces together, and sew over the edges neatly; 
sew a little piece of fine 
flannel or merino filled 
with needles to one 
joined side piece at the 
point; then put the two 
sides together and sew 
them well together at 
the point, leaving space 
enough for a gilt bod¬ 
kin to pass through 
and make the real 
point. Put pins in all 
around the edge, add a 
narrow ribbon band 
fastened by a pin at 
the handle end, to keep 
the sides together. 

The inside of the bel- fig. 1.—work basket (open). 

lows looks best Avith 

satin or plain silk, and the outside with brocade. If a small design 
is embroidered or painted on the outside, it has a very beautiful effect. 
A common length of the bellows is three inches from the handle to the point. 


Work Basket. —An octagon-shaped box or basket is used for the founda¬ 
tion; it is lined 
with quilted blue 
satin, ornamented 
with a small silk 
button at the cor¬ 
ner of each dia¬ 
mond. The out¬ 
side of the basket 
is covered with 
old-gold satin, put 
on in four large 
puffs; each puff is 
divided by a band 
of blue velvet em¬ 
broidered with a 
cross-stitch de¬ 
sign; it is edged 
with lace and a 
fine gold cord. 
The lid is covered 
with velvet, also 

ornamented with lace, and a handle of wire covered with gold cord. In 
Fig. 1 the basket is shown open, and in Fig. 2 closed. Fig, 2 shows plain 
velvet bands, and in this figured silk is used instead of the old-gold 
satin. 


FIG. 2.— WORK BASKET (CLOSED); 


























THE HOUSEHOLD 






FIG. 1.—KNITTED DRESSING SLIPPER. 


Knitted Dressing Slipper. — Materials required: Four ounce blue and 

four ounce white 
Berlin wool; four 
pins No. 12 (Walk¬ 
er’s gauge), and a 
pair of cork soles. 

Commence the 
slipper at the toe 
with blue wool, 
cast on ten stitches, 
increase by putting 
the wool over the 
pin at beginning of 
each row to make a stitch. Fig. 2 shows the outside of work, and Fig. 3 the 
inside with loops of white wool. When knitting 
with the white wool take it from two balls so as 
to have two lengths. 

1st Row: Knit plain. 

2d Row: Make one, knit one, * take the dou¬ 
ble white wool, turn it twice over the pin to form 
a loop of about three-quarters of an inch (see 
design), with the left-hand pin pass the last 
knitted loop over the four loops of white, knit 
two, repeat from * to the end of the row. 

3d Row: Make one at the beginning of the 
row, slip the loops of white wool, knit the blue; 
in knitting the blue stitch pass the blue wool 
with which you are knitting round the double white wool; in knitting the 


FIG. 2.— DETAIL OF FIG. 1. 



FIG. 3.— DETAIL OF FIG. 1. 

next stitch this will draw up the white wool close to the work, and 
so carry it to the other side to be ready for working the next row of loops. 

4th Row: Make one, knit the blue stitches plain, knit the four white loops 
at the back as one stitch. 





















LADIES' FANCY WORK. 311 

5th Row: Make one, knit to the end of the row. Repeat from second 
row, increasing at the beginning of each row until the work is wide enough 
across the instep. 

Now divide the stitches for the sides, casting off ten in the center; with 
the third pin continue to work on the side stitches as before, without in¬ 
crease or decrease, until you have the length from the instep to the back 
of the heel, then cast off and work the other side in the same way; sew the 
two sides together at the back with a needle and wool. 

Now pick up the stitches round the top of slipper, on three pins, and 
with a fourth pin and blue wool knit ten rows, cast off, turn this plain piece 
over, and hem it down to the top of inside of slipper to form a roll round 
the edge. Sew the bottom of slipper neatly and firmly to a strong cork sole 
lined with wool. 

Stand for Cigar Ashes.—Our engraving represents a stand for cigar 
ashes. It consists of a bowl with a 
piece of wire running around it, by 
which it is mounted on three sticks, 
which are joined together in the middle. 

The upper ends are fastened to the 
bowl, and the fastening and bowl cov¬ 
ered by lace or pressed leather, or any 
other material. The stand may be made 
by any young man or woman, of rustic 
work, using for the bowl piece the half 
of a cocoanut-shell, scraped, finished, 
and varnished. It will make a neat, 
unique, and useful ornament. 

Tlie Hungarian Bow. —This is a 
novelty in home decoration, and is used 
instead of a scarf upon chairs and sofas. 

It is formed of a long scarf with em¬ 
broidered and fringed ends, but plain in 
the middle, and is arranged in a knot 
or bow. This is fastened to the back of stand for cigar ashss. 
the chair or sofa, and the ends prettily 

draped over it. Bronze and gold colors are the most used, embroidered in 
tulip design, with shaded red silk and gold thread. The fringe may be of 
gold, or red silk and gold. Handsome Roman scarfs that were bright for 
personal wear, but are now a little “ off-style,” may be utilized in this way, 
and are as handsome as anything bought at the decorative or art stores. 

Star Mats. —Have four knitting needles; cast on three stitches, on each 
of three needles, then tie like the beginning of a stocking; then knit two 
plain rouuds, then widen every stitch all around, then knit one plain round, 
then widen every two stitches all around, then one plain round, then widen 
every three stitches all around, then a plain round. Continue so till you get 
thirteen stitches between. Knit a plain round every time after widening, 
then widen and narrow, and widen again, then knit two plain rounds, then 
widen and narrow, widen and narrow again, then widen, then knit two plain 
rounds. Continue so till the star is complete, adding one more widened 
stitch every two rounds. Then bind off. 



















he household . 

A Table Scarf._A useful table scarf, aucl one that is particularly 
pleasing to the eye, because it does not suggest almost endless labor, is 
made by taking a strip of all wool Java canvas of the proper length for the 
table on which it is to be used. Line it with some stiff cloth and then with 
silesia At about three inches from the outer edge sew on two strips of 
black velvet ribbon two inches wide. Through the center work a handsome 
scroll pattern, using bright yellow silk; the velvet stripes may be put on 
perfectly plain, or may be worked in old-fashioned cross-stitch, or m some 
modification of feather stitch. Finish the bottom of the scarf with yellow 
silk balls. This is suitable for the common sitting-room; it is so bright that 
the dust can be shaken from it with ease. 

Baby Basket _Procure a large brown basket and a small camp-stool. 


BABY BASKET. 

Measure the size round the top of the basket; get that quantity of material; 
measure the depth of the basket, and allow for the scallops to fall over the 
edge. Bind the scallops; fasten it to the edge of the basket; draw it down 
lightly to the bottom in plaits. Cut a round piece of material the shape of 
the bottom of the basket; fasten it round the edge, and finish with a box- 
plaiting of ribbons. Make the cushions and pockets to please the fancy. 
A box-plaiting round the top of basket; also round the scallops. Betw'een 
each scallop put a bow or cord and tassels of worsted; fasten this on the 
camp-stool, around which put a ruffle of the same material the basket is 
lined with. 

Neat Mats can be made by cutting a stiff piece of woolen goods into the 
shape desired, and crocheting an edge or border of fancy-colored yarn 


LAI) IE S’ FANCY WORE. 3 ft) 

S / ar stltcU — Crochet a chain of twenty stitches. Without putting the 
wool over first, put the needle into the second chain, thread over and draw 
through, leaving the two loops on the needle; do the same in the next three 
chain successively, drawing the wool up longer and having five loops on the 

5®® dle » P ut w ° o1oy er and draw through all, and make one chain to hold it * 
Put needle into the stitch where the five loops are, draw thread through 
put the needle into the back part of last loop of the star before draw hrmmh 
put the needle into the next two chain just the sameIr^LJ themup 

3J 11 ; 1 thread ov f r ’ draw all five loops and make one chain *; 

repeat between the stars. ’ 



Feather Edged Braid 
Trimming —Fasten the 
thread to a loop in the braid 
—chain seven stitches, put embroidered chair cover. 

the needle in the second loop from where you commence, draw the thread 
through the loop and the stitch on the needle, chain four more and fasten in 
the next second loop, then take up three more loops by putting the needle 
through each one, and drawing the thread through the loop, and the stitch 
on the needle, chain four stitches and fasten as before, chain four more and 
fasten, take up eight loops as the three were taken, chain two and fasten 
around the last four chain stitches, chain two more and fasten in the second 
loop from the eight taken up stitches, chain two, and fasten around the next 
four chain stitches, chain two, and fasten in second loop, then take up three 
loojis, chain two, fasten around the four chain stitches, chain two, fasten in 
second loop, chain two, fasten around the seven stitches, chain four, fasten 
in second loop, double the braid together from this loop, and on the right 


Embroidered Chair Cover_ Em broidered slips are much used uow 
instead of chintz covers for 
chairs. They can be mad© 
of thin woolen material, or 
of linen. When of wool 
they are embroidered with 
crewels. 


* The better way to have 
the covers fit nicely, is to 
lay the material on the 
chair, pin it in place to hold 
it firmly, and lay the piaits 
and seams just where they 
should be, and cut the ma¬ 
terial then. There are no 
two chairs exactly alike in 
shape, and it will be found 
far more easy to fit them in 
this way. The seams and 
edges are bound with braid 
and the corners are laced 
down with cords. The caps 
for the arms are fastened 
with buttons and button¬ 
holes. 



























B80 


ffiti tioiistiiiOLi). 



side of tlie work take up a loop of each piece of the braid, draw the thread 
through these loops, leave the stitch on the needle, and so continue until all 
have been taken up, as far as the loop above the eight taken up stitches, on 
the opposite side of the braid, then draw the thread through two stitches at 
a time until only one stitch remains on the needle, then commence the second 

scallop same as before. Crochet 
across the top of the completed 
edging, to sew on by. And I think 
it washes and wears better to cro¬ 
chet a chain of three between each 
loop on the lower edge, except 
those close between the scallops, 
simply drawing the thread through 
these. The needle must be fine 
and straight. 

Ladies’ Work-Stand. —T h e 

skeleton of the work-stand we have 
illustrated is made of rattan. The 
squares between the rods should 
be covered with green, plaited silk, 
which is drawn together and either 
fastened with a button or a small 
rosette and a flat tassel. The bag, 
for the reception of embroidery or 
other fancy work, is made of green 
silk, drawn together by a green 
cord, at the end of which is a tassel 
of the same color. To hide the 
joints of the rods, a scarf of green 
ribbon is put at each juncture. In 
w ore-stand. the lower part of the stand is a pin¬ 

cushion, which is made in the same style as the filling-in of the squares 
above, and also drawn and held together with a button. 


Mosaic Embroidery. —Mosaic embroidery is very effective for mantel 
drapes, piano covers, and screens, and is quite easily made. Take whatever 
material is chosen for the ground work and sew on to it with some fancy 
stitch odd patterns cut from v«arions colored plushes 












FLORICULTURE. 


Ivy Tor Picture Frames —Ivy is one of the best plants to have in the 
house, as it bears a large amount of neglect and abuse, and gratefully repays 
good treatment. It is not rare to see a pot of ivy placed where it can be 
trained around picture frames 
or mirrors, and thus border 
them with living green. A 
good plan is to dispense with 
the pot, or rather, have a sub¬ 
stitute for it, which is kept out 
of sight. Our illustration 
shows a picture frame wreathed 
with ivy after this method. 

Only a good-sized picture or 
mirror can be treated in this 
way, and as such are usually 
hung so that the top of the 
frame leans forward, the space 
between the frame and the 
Avail is available for the re¬ 
ceptacle for the plant. A pot 
or pan of zinc, of a Avedge 
shape, and size to suit the 
space between the frame and 
the AA r all, can be readily made 
by any tinsmith. This is to be 
hung against the Avail so as to 
be quite concealed by the pic¬ 
ture, and the fs r y tastefully 
trained over the frame. A rus- 
tic frame is better suited to 
this purpose, as it not only 
affords better facilities h r at¬ 
taching the stems to the frame, 
but its style seems better 
adapted to this kind of decora¬ 
tion than more pretentious 

ones. Still, a gilt frame may be made beautiful in the same Avay. There is 
only one precaution to be used, viz.: not to hang such a frame over the fire¬ 
place, for the combined heat and dust would soon destroy the plant. Let it 
hang so that it may face a north or east A\ r indoAv. Don’t forget the Avater; 
the pan holding the plant is out of sight, and, therefore, should be kept in 
mind. 

Diseases of Room Plants. —The leaA’es of plants Avhen in a normally 
healthy state are generally of a deep green color, but Avhen diseased they 



IVY FOIl PICTURE FRAMES. 




































































332 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


become yellowish or white. In the majority of cases such a diseased appear¬ 
ance is produced by an excess of light or a lack of it, too much or too little 
water, unsuitable, overrich, or impoverished soil, or lack of drainage. When 
the discoloration first shows itself—and this is generally on the younger shoots 
—the condition of the roots should be ascertained by turning the plant out 
of the pot. If the roots are healthy and fill the ball, or appear overcrowded, 
the discoloration indicates lack of nutriment, or too little or too much light. 
In the first case it can be remedied by shifting the plant into a larger pot, or 
watering the plant with liquid manure. If excess or lack of light is the 
cause, reference must be had to the character of the plant. Ferns, 
selaginellas, and plants of similar character that naturally grow in shady 
places, become pale or yellowish when grown in bright light, while those 
whose habitat is in open, exposed situations, become discolored when not 
having a sufficiency of light. In either case, when grown in pots, plants are 
more liable to become diseased through this cause than when grown in the 
open air. The remedy, of course, is only to shift the position of the plant 
and place it where the light will better suit its nature. 

If the ball is not filled with roots, and they do not appear to be fresh and 
healthy, the discoloration, in all probability, proceeds from excess of moist¬ 
ure or unsuitable soil. To remedy the first, see that the drainage outlet is 
kept free and unclioked; if after a week or two this does not affect a change, 
then it is probable that the diseased appearance arises from unsuitable soil. 
Some plants, such as azaleas, camelias, and rhododendrons, in such case 
will not throw out a single rootlet from the old ball into the new soil, but 
gradually die back or make but weakly, spindling shoots. If the discolora¬ 
tion has been produced by bad drainage, excessive watering, or unsuitable 
soil, and is of such long standing as to caiiso the roots to decay, or the soil 
has become sour, the proper remedy is to shake off all the earth from them 
and wash them by shaking them thoroughly in clean water, cutting off the 
decayed parts with a sharp knife, and replanting into light fresh earth, and 
seeing that the drainage is kept free. Eieh soil or large pots should not bo 
used, the latter should be but little lai'ger than the diameter of the roots. 
When the roots are well developed the plant may be shifted into a larger pot 
and richer soil. The leaves of plants from warm countries—oranges, for in¬ 
stance—will sometimes become yellow when exposed to a low temperature, 
especially when accompanied wfitli much moisture; the remedy in this case 
is either to raise the temperature or decrease the amount of "water given. 

Sometimes the discoloration is caused by insufficiency of w’ater, which 
causes the roots to shrivel up. It may also proceed from giving too much 
water at one time, and then letting the ball become dry, or by only giving 
enough of w r ater to moisten the surface of the soil for an inch or tw r o, while 
below r it may be as dry as powder. Carefulness and w r atclifulness are the 
only modes of preventing injui’y to the plants from such causes. When the 
leaves of deciduous plants fall off as their season of rest approaches, they 
should be placed in a lower temperature, and not have as liberal a supply of 
Avater as when growing. If evergreen plants, such as w r e generally grow r in 
greenhouses, shed their leaves profusely and suddenly, it indicates that 
they have not light enough, or that the temperature of the room is too high, 
or the atmosphere is too dry; the proper mode of treatment in such cases is 
self-apparent. 

Occasionally plants will die off suddenly near the surface of the soil, 
although the roots, leaves and shoots look quite healthy. This is often 
paused by the collar of the plant—the part where the roots are joined to the 


FLORICULTURE. 


383 


stem—being set too deep into the soil. Watering with very cold water when 
the soil in the pots has been exposed to the sun will also cause them to die 
off suddenly. Plants in pots should never have the pots exposed to the full 
blaze of sunshine, especially in the middle of the day. The crowns of her¬ 
baceous plants that have been kept dry, or comparatively so, during their 
season of rest, will rot away if the balls of roots are too liberally supplied 
with water. They should be kept in the shade, and but sparingly supplied 
with water, and that rather tepid, until they develop a leaf or two. 

Some plants, especially roses, when kept in rooms, are very apt to become 
mildewed, to the certain destruction of the leaves and flower buds. As soon 
as it shows itself the leaves should be washed with soap and water, rinsed 
off and flowers of sulphur dusted on with a dredging-box or a pepper-box, 
washing it off after it has been on for two or three days. 

The whole art of keeping plants in rooms is to provide an equable, moist 
temperature, light according to the nature of the plants, regular moderate 
watering, good drainage, suitable soil, cleanliness, and an avoidance of all 
sudden checks or shocks to the plant either in temperature or humidity. 
These are always injurious, as they produce disease and render the plant 
liable to the attacks of insects and fungoid growths. 

Cheap and Pretty Hanging Baskets —The sweet potato, which is 
basket and contents in one, has, when successful, a very ornamental effect. 
Truth compels us to state that it is not always successful, and a yellow, 
scraggy appearance of foliage will sometimes reward the best-intentioned en¬ 
deavors; but given ordinarily favorable surroundings, which include heat and 
sunshine, this curious hanging basket thrives and covers a large space with 
bright-hued verdure. A large, sound root should be selected, and the top for 
some distance down is then removed. Next comes the disagreeable process 
of removing the inside—leaving a wall all around, and a thicker one at the 
bottom. Three holes are then bored at equal distances, about half an inch 
from the top; and into these the suspending cords, which unite at the upper 
ends, are fastened. When filled with water up to the holes, the sweet potato 
basket is completed; and if placed in a sunny window, it should be covered 
with shoots and leaves in a few weeks’ time. Some of the sprays can be 
trained upward, and others allowed to droop. The red-skinned sweet potato 
has a pretty streak of silver in the foliage, and the two varieties on either 
side of a window make an agreeable contrast. If preferred, the hollow root 
can be filled with earth or sand instead of water—if with the latter, there 
should be two or three small pieces of charcoal at the bottom. A carrot 
treated in the same way sends forth a mass of feathery foliage whose vivid 
green brings a sort of sunshine into the dreariest day; and even a large 
sponge suspended by cords, thoroughly moistened and planted with flax, 
rape-seed, or any low growing verdure, is not to be despised. A very pretty 
basket can be manufactured by taking an ordinary one of wire and fastening 
to it raisiu-stems, or bits of thin wire properly bent, and then dipping the 
whole into melted sealing-wax of a vermilion color until it is thoroughly 
coated. Brushing it over with the mixture would take less material. The 
effect of theses coralized sprays, glowing through delicate green vines, is 
really beautiful. Every one cannot succeed with a basket of growing plants, 
but almost any one can succeed with ivy; and a very ornamental hanging 
basket that requires little care can be made in the following way: Almost 
any kind of basket will answer, and there should be a good collection of 
autumn leaves varnished and prepared in sprays. Six or eight two ounce 


THE HOUSEHOLD 


384 

bottles should be filled with water, and have one or two well-grown sprays 
of ivy in each, placed in wads of cotton to keep them upright, the leaves ar¬ 
ranged in between and around the edge of the basket. The ivy will grow, 
and can he trained to run up the cords, as well as to hang over the sides; 
the only care required is to fill up the bottles as the water evaporates, and 
to keep the leaves free from dust. 

Window Gardening. —What adds more to the cheerfulness of the 
home during the lonely, dreary days of winter, than flowers ? All can have 



FIG. 1.—DOUBLE WINDOW WITH PLANT SHELF. 

them, the poor as well as the ricb, if a little care and forethought is used 
in growing and arranging them. 

The preparatory work consists in transplanting and fairly starting in 
small pots, in August or September, the Madeira vine, creeping Charlie, 
cypress vine, balloon vine, the common English, the German, or the Kenil- 
worth ivy, or morning glory, flowering bean, or sweet-scented pea, or, if you 
are disposed to he more aristocratic, smilax, lophiospermum, or, if the win¬ 
dow is large and the foliage is pot deemed too rank, the clematis or the 






























































































































































































































































FL0U10UL TUBE. 


385 


passion vine. Nearly all of these, if thus started, will grow finely and festoon 
your windows in a few weeks; some of them have fine blossoms, which will 
add to the beauty of their foliage. Next, for the plants to make a display in 
your windows. What these shall be, and how they shall be arranged, de¬ 
pends very much upon the size, shape and character of your windows'. If 
you have a bay or oriel window, either large or small, you can make it the 
most attractive feature of your room at a very small expense. First place 
your pots with climb-vines at the sides on low brackets, and the vines to 
make a beautiful frame for your windows. If the window is a deep bay, 
other and more delicate vines may be placed between the side windows and 
the main one—such as smilax, the Kenilworth ivy, or the cypress vine—and 
trained over the ceiling of the bay. At the base of the windows have a 
shelf six or eight inches wide (eight is best), supported by the ordinary 



FIG. 2.—PRETTY ARRANGEMENT FOR SITTING-ROOM WINDOWS. 

metal brackets, and in front tack the expanding framework (such as is shown 
in Fig. 1), which is now to be found for sale by the yard very cheap at all 
the flower stores—the black walnut is the prettiest, though the holly wood 
is very neat; stretch it to its full extent before tacking it on. Then selecting 
your hardiest and most freely-blooming plants—geraniums, pelargoniums, 
rose geraniums, all from slips potted in July or August, periwinkles, 
fuchsias, heliotropes, bouvardias, cuphias, and newly-potted slips of ver¬ 
bena, with such other beautiful small plants as you may find desirable— 
place each pot in one about three sizes larger, which is partially filled with 
fine earth, and the space between loosely packed with moss. Set these on 
your shelf, arranging them with reference to complementary colors; put in 
the center where the main partition between the two divisions of the central 
window is, a good and shapely ardisia, which, if it has been plunged during 





















































































































386 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


the summer, will, by this time, be loaded with its beautiful berries, which 
ai'e in November just beginning to turn to a beautiful scarlet. These ber¬ 
ries will hang on till June; and, while the plant is of very moderate price, it 
has no superior as an ornamental shrub. In the corners put callas, which 
should have been heeled or turned over to rest, as early as July or August 
1st. Their position should be partially shaded, and where they will not have 
too much heat; when they begin to bud, they should have a plenty of warm, 
almost hot, water furnished them daily. They, too, should be placed in a 



Fia. 3. —BAT WINDOW WITH PLANT PLATFORM. 

pot surrounded by a large pot, and the interstices filled in with moss. Across 
the center of the windows place other shelves with pots of smaller flowers, 
and, among the rest, creeping plants, such as verbenas, sweet alyssum’ 
nemaphila lobelia, mesembryanthemum, etc., etc. On a table in the center, 
if you can have a neat box, zinc-lined, you can set in pots, hyacinths^ 
amaryllis, cyclamens, iris, and the finest sorts of crocus, and, packing moss 
around them, keep them moist. From the ceiling of the bay may be suspended 
hanging baskets, taking the precaution to keep them moist. The outlay for 
all this is very little, and if you are ingenious you can do it all yourself.' 































































FLO RI CULTURE. 


387 

But everybody baa not bay windows, or even double windows. For these 
unfortunates, among whom we are sorry to be obliged to reckon ourselves, 
the simpler arrangement indicated in Fig. 2 is almost as effective. A shelf 
at the foot of each window supported on brackets, and, if preferred, protected 
by the expanding framework, will give room for four or six pots at each 
window, while the vines can be trained around the windows, as in the other 
case. A swinging bracket large enough for two pots can be attached to the 
outer side of the framework of each window, midway of its height, and a 
rustic basket attached to a hook projecting from the top of the window 
frame, if desired. On a table or slab between the windows a small jardiniere, 
containing an ardisia, or Tahiti orange, can be placed. In the selection of 
climbers for trimming the windows, avoid the climbing fern, which is offered 
so abundantly at all the flower stores. It cannot be made to live in parlors, 



FIG. 4. —DEEP BAY WINDOW WITH BRACKETS. 

and in spite of all the care which may be taken with it will soon become dry 
and unsightly. The ivies, Madeira vine and cypress vine are the best, 
though several other climbers are pretty. The blossoms of the Madeira 
vine, which will come out if it is well cared for in February or March, are 
very fragrant, and will fill the parlors with their delicate perfume. 

The wall pockets so plenty in these days of scroll sawing, can be very 
easily adapted to the purpose of plant cultivation, and add greatly to the 
beauty of these simple decollations. 

How to Kill Insects on Plants. —Slugs are occasionally seen eating 
large holes or notches in the leaves of all succulents and begonias. They 
usually feed at night. Cut potatoes, turnips, or some other fleshy vegetable 
in halves, and place conveniently near the plants. The slugs will gather 




















































































388 


run household. 


upon the vegetable, and are easily destroyed. The white worm which 
infests, occasionally, all soils where plants are kept in pots, may be removed 
as follows: Sprinkle lime water over the soil, or sprinkle a little slacked 
lime on the earth, and in the saucer of the pot. Lime water may be easily 
made by slacking a large piece of lime in a pail of cold water, letting this 
settle, and then bottle the clear water for use. Give each pot a tablespoon¬ 
ful twice a week. 

To destroy the little bugs on the oleander, take a piece of lime the size of 
a hen’s egg, and dissolve it in about two quarts of water. Wash the stock 
and branches with this water. 

To destroy plant lice, take three and a half ounces of quassia chips, add 
five drachms Stavesacre seed in powder, place in seven pints of water, and 
boil down to five pints. When cold, the strained liquid is ready for use, 
either by means of a watering-pot or a syringe. 

Hot alum water Avill destroy red and black ants, cockroaches, spiders and 
chintzbugs. Take two pounds of alum and dissolve it in three or four 
quarts of boiling water. Let it stand on the fire until the alum is all melted, 
then apply it with a brush (while nearly boiling hot) to the places fre¬ 
quented by these insects. 

Any choice plants may be preserved from the ravages of slugs by placing 
a few pieces of garlic near them. No slugs will approach the smell of garlic. 

Greenhouse slugs often become a nuisance in the greenhouse. A certain 
remedy is to sprinkle salt freely along the edges of the bench or table, the 
crossing of which is sure death to the slug. 

Another way of destroying insects on flowers is to water the plants -with 
a decoction of tobacco, which quickly destroys. Independently of the re¬ 
moval of the insects, tobacco-water is considered by many persons to improve 
the verdure of the plant. Prepare it as follows: Take one pound of roll 
tobacco and pour over it three pints of water, nearly boiling. Let it stand 
for some hours before it is used. 

Kerosene oil may be used for destroying insects on plants by taking a 
tablespoonful of oil and mixing it with half a cup of milk, and then diluting 
the mixture with two gallons of water. Apply the liquid with a syringe, and 
afterward rinse with clear water. This substance is death to plant insects, 
and we have never heard of its injuring the most delicate plants when used 
as here directed. 

The following is recommended as a means of destroying the rose slug: 
Add a teaspoonful of powdered white hellebore to two gallons of boiling 
water. Apply when cold, in a fine spray, bending the tops over so as to 
reach the under surface of the leaves. One application is usually sufficient. 
This is a good way to treat the currant worm. 

The red spider may be banished from plants by the simple process of 
cutting off the infected leaf. A leaf once attacked soon decays and falls off; 
but then the animals remove to another. By carefully pursuing this ampu¬ 
tation plants will become remarkably healthy. 

A new method for the getting rid of worms which destroy the house 
plants is a number of sulphur matches placed in the flower pots with their 
heads down. The experiment has been tried with success. 

Ammonia for Plants.—If the house plants become pale and sickly, a 
dose of ammonia, a few drops in the water you water them with, will revive 
them like magic. It is the concentrated essence of fertilizers, and acts upon 
plant life as tonics and sea air upon human invalids. 


FLORICULTURE. 389 

Ornamental Wardian Case. —The sides of the box are of mahogany, 
11-4 inch in thickness, and the bottom of deal, 1 1-2 inch thick, well framed 
and dovetailed together, and strengthened with brass hands, and with two 
cross-bars beneath. The upper edge of the box is furnished with a groove 
for the reception of the glass roof, and this groove is lined with brass, to 



ORNAMENTAL WARDIAN CASE. 


prevent the wood from rotting. The roof is composed of brass, and glazed 
with the very best flattened crown glass. The brass astragals are grooved 
for the reception of the glass, and not rebated, as in ordinary glazing. Eyed 
studs are cast on the inner side of the ridge astragal, about half an inch in 
length, for the purpose of suspending small orchids or ferns from the roof. 
The inside of the box is lined with zinc, and at one of the corners an aperture 
is formed into which a copper tube, two inches long, is inserted, and fur- 





















































































390 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Dished with a cock for withdrawing any superfluous water that may at any 
time accumulate within the box. One of the panes is made to take out—this 
provision is necessary for the occasional arrangement and airing of the 
plants, but the general arrangement is made by lifting the top off entirely. 

Rose Culture. — Situation. —A place apart from other flowers should be 
assigned to them, if possible, sheltered from high winds, but open and not 
surrounded by trees, as closeness is very apt to generate mildew; where 
they cannot have a place to themselves, any part of the garden best fulfilling 
these conditions will answer. 

Soil .—A most important item in their successful culture. That in which 
they especially delight is a rich, unctious loam, that feels greasy when 
pressed between the fingers. Where this is not to be had the soil must be 
improved; if light, by the addition of loam, or even clay, well worked in; 
where heavy, good drainage and the addition of coal ashes in small quanti¬ 
ties will help it, but in such places draining is more important. 

Planting .—Mix some loam and well-rotted manure together, open a good 
sized hole, and fill it with fresh soil; plant firmly. Shorten any very long 
shoots, and, if exposed to winds, secure the plant by short stakes. 

Manuring .—Roses are strong feeders, and will take almost any amount of 
manure; pig manure is the best, except in hot soils, when cow manure is 
preferable; stable manure is generally available and good. Exhibitors gen¬ 
erally apply a top-dressing in spring, but it does not improve the appearance 
of the beds; a good top-dressing may be laid on the beds in autumn, and be 
dug in in the spring. 

Watering .—When coming into bloom, if the weather be dry, give a good 
drenching twice or three times a week; continue after blooming to prevent 
mildew. If greater size be required, liquid manure may be used. Syringe 
daily for green fly. 

Pruning .—This may be done any time after the beginning of March, ac¬ 
cording to the season. Cut out all wood over two years old and all weakly 
shoots. Weak-growing kinds should be pruned hard—that is, down to three 
or four eyes; stronger growing kinds may be left longer. Cut to an eye that 
points outward, so as to keep the inside of the plant open. Teas and 
noisettes require less cutting back; the tops should be shortened and the 
weak shoots cut out, and they should not be pruned until May. Use a sharp 
knife. 

Rustic Hanging Basket.—The accompanying drawing represents a 
rustic hanging basket that any person can make with the common house 
tools, axe, saw, knife, hammer and a few brads. First, procure from the 
woods two or three sticks of iron wood, or such as may suit the fancy. They 
should be selected, small trees, about three inches in diameter. After 
selecting the tree, cut it up into pieces fourteen or fifteen inches in length; 
then, taking one of these round sticks, split off the four sides; this, if it splits 
well, will give eight pieces from two sticks, the number required to make 
the basket. The sticks, or pieces, should be narrower and thinner at one. 
end than the other, as shown in the cut, and rounded at each end. Then 
procure a block or piece of inch board, and cut out a circular piece about 
three inches in diameter, slanting it a little so that the pieces will have the 
taper towards the bottom when tacked to the block. This gives the basket 
a little flare. They should fit close together at the point where the block is, 
and may be a little open, nearer the top, in order to fill between with moss. 


FLORICULTURE. 


391 


Now. the pieces being nailed to the block with brads, begin to ornament it 
with grape-vines and roots. Roots are tacked to the under side of the block, 
to fill it all up, and at the lower points of the pieces where they match, al¬ 
ways keeping in view one thing—to preserve the tapering form and matching 
the loots in every way that will bring them all towards the center with uni¬ 
formity. Next put vines on the 
sides, as per engraving, bring¬ 
ing two together over the places 
where the sticks match; also, 
weave in around the top two 
vines, in and out alternately, 
and, fastening with brads, tack 
roots on the pieces between the 
ornamental work. 

Next put on a handle of 
grape-vine, giving it a single 
knot; tie at the top to form a 
loop, interweaving it with a 
smaller vine; then give the 
basket a coat of varnish and put 
in suitable plants. Keep the 
basket partially in the shade, 
and occasionally dip it in a bar¬ 
rel of rain water. 

To Prepare Plants for 
Winter. —It is a great mistake 
to delay the work of prepara¬ 
tion for winter until it is sug¬ 
gested by cool nights or a warn¬ 
ing given by blighting frosts. 

When a plant has been taken 
from a pot and planted in open 
ground it usually outgrows its 
former place, and is too largo 
for any vessel of convenient 
size. The root should be cut 
away to a considerable extent 
and likewise the top or foliage 
must be correspondingly re¬ 
duced. Novices often fail at 
this point, for they dislike to 
part with any of the new growth, 
and set the plant in a pot un¬ 
pruned, and expect what is not 
possible, that it will flourish. 

Cut back roc^ system and branch system equally is the rule. Plants when 
thus transplanted need to be favored by being kept in the shade and shel¬ 
tered from the drying winds until they have made a good start in the pots. 
Many of the house plants are kept in their pots during the summer and will 
need repotting, or the pot washed and the surface soil replaced by fresh, 
rich earth. A larger pot is needed by those plants' whose roots have formed 
a mat along the inner surface. The ball of earth can be examined quickly 



RUSTIC HANGING BASKET. 











392 THE HOUSEHOLD. 

by spreading tl\e left baud on the vessel—the stem passing between the 
fingers, and with the other hand on the bottom invert the pot and give the 
edge a downward tap against some object. If this does not succeed, poui 
some water around the edge, and after a short time repeat the operation. 
All old pots should be clean, and if the new ones are used soak them in 
water until the pores are filled. A piece of broken vessel is placed over the 
bottom hole before filling in the potting earth. All the necessary pots, soil, 
etc., should be abandoned now, that they may be at hand when needed at 
any time during the winter. 

Selection of House Plants— Select fresh, healthy plants for -winter cul¬ 
ture, for they wdll repay all the labor you bestow upon them by bright flow¬ 
ers. The old geraniums, heliotropes, fuchsias, etc., which have flowered all 
summer, will be of no value for window gardening, while young plants will 
soon be covered with buds and flowers. Small plants in small pots are far 
more desirable for house culture than large plants in such cumbrous pots 
that it requires a man’s strength to move them. 

There are several winter-flowering fuchsias which wdll continue to bloom 
from October until May, in beautiful luxuriance, if you will only give them 
a spoonful of “ Soluble Pacific Guano ” once in two or three weeks, or give 
it in a liquid form by dissolving a tablespoonful of it in three quarts of hot 
water. It will also destroy the white worms which are so apt to infest the 
soil of plants that have not been repotted frequently. At least it proved an 
antidote with me last season. But if it does not exterminate them, take a 
piece of unslacked lime as large as a man’s fist, and slack it in hot water in 
an old pail, and when the lime has sunk to the bottom, water the plants with 
it, and it will make their foliage luxuriant and destroy worms of all kinds. 
The lime can be used over several times. 

Tea roses, if well treated, make lovely plants for winter. Purchase well- 
rooted plants of Boh Silene, Safrano, Bella , and other varieties, and put them 
close to the glass and stimulate weekly with weak liquid fertilizers; or a 
Jacqueminot rose which bloomed in the summer may be taken up and potted 
in an eight-inch pot, with the richest compost made friable with sand or 
sharp grits, cut back ail the old wood and pull off every leaf and place it in 
a frost-proof window, but where the sun shines in well, and you can force as 
handsome rose-buds as the florists. 

For a small amount of money a collection of winter-flowering plants can 
be procured; and though they will neither feed nor clothe the body, yet 
they will minister to the needs of the soul, which sometimes hungers, thirsts, 
and shivers, while the body is luxuriously fed, and clothed in fine raiment. 

Soil fbr Plants. —Knowing that nearly every lady in the city finds it 
hard to get manure of the right quality for her plants, I thought this sug¬ 
gestion might be of some use to them. Gather up the fallen leaves and 
put them in an old box, or in some obscure corner where they will not have 
to be removed. After getting all you want, pile them in as close quarters as 
possible, then throw on them all of your dish-water, wash-water, or any 
water that will help to make them rot. Every week or two take a stick and 
turn the leaves over, and keep on doing this until they are all rotten, which 
they will be in a short time, and you will have as good a manure as any 
florist could want. If you could get the droppings from a cow and put them 
in an old dish and pour water on them; let it stand for a day or two; then 
take the liquid and pour it around the roots of the plant; it will give it a, 


393 


FLORICULTURE. 

dark green color and make it grow very fast; but in putting the last named 
on the roots do not let any get on the leaves. As nearly every lady has 
some plant which they cannot pot, from its large size, they would be very 
glad to know of some way in which they can enrich the soil without going to 
the trouble of taking the plant out of the pot. By putting the liquid on 
every month it will make the soil nearly as rich and do the plant as much 
good as if they had put it in rich soil. Fine charcoal is excellent to mix with 
the soil when potting plants, or to sprinkle on the surface of the soil of those 
already potted. It stimulates the growth of the plants and deepens the 
colors. Iron filings from a blacksmith or machine shop worked into the soil 
for plants, will add greatly also to the rich and bright color of the flowers. 

Smilax for a Curtain. —Last season, writes a lady, I slipped some smi- 
' lax out of a small pot into a box which I set on a shelf that was on the out¬ 
side of a south window. This shelf was eight inches below the top of the 
window-sill. The box Avas six inches deep, and so was a little lower than 
the sill. With a red-hot poker I burned a row of holes around the sides of 
the box, and filled it with a light, rich soil. When the plant was fully es¬ 
tablished and had sent up nice thrifty sprouts, I drove nine small nails along 
the top of the window-pane, and slipped on to them the looped-up ends of a 
fine cord; the other ends of the cord were tied each to a nail which was. 
stuck in the box by the sprout it was intended to support. The vines grew 
rapidly, and in a few weeks’ time had reached the top of the window; a week 
or two more, and the ends were drooping down from the top, thus forming a 
graceful valance to my beautiful curtains—a curtain far more beautiful than 
any made by mortal hand could ever be. In October, when the nights were 
growing frosty, I slipped the looped ends of the cords that supported the 
vines off the nails, and placed the box with the vine on a stand on the inside 
of the Avindow and slipped the loops over nails, and so, Avithout any trouble 
at all, had my windoAV adorned Avith this lovely vine until Christmas. This 
vine so airily light, and so graceful, is peculiarly appropriate for the adorn¬ 
ment of thin evening dresses, and as lovely for the hair. 

Hot-Water Cure for Sickly Plants. _M. Willermoz some time since 

stated that plants in pots may be restored to health by means of hot Avater; 
ill-health he maintains, ensues from acid substances in the soil, Avhich, be¬ 
ing absorbed by the roots, act as poison. The small roots Avither and cease 
to act, and the upper and younger shoots consequently turn yelloAv, or be¬ 
come spotted, indicative of their morbid state. In such cases the usual 
remedy is to transplant into fresh soil, in clean pots Avith good drainage, and 
this often with the best results. But his experience of several years has 
proved the unfailing efficacy of the simpler treatment, which consists in 
. Avatering abundantly Avith hot water at a temperature of 145 degrees Fahr., 
having previously stirred the soil of the pots so far as may be done without 
injury to the roots. Water is then given until it runs freely from the pots. 
In lus experiments, the Avater at first came out clear; afterAvards it Avas sen¬ 
sibly tinged Avith broAvn, and gave an appreciable acid reaction. After this 
thorough Avashing, the pots Avere kept warm, and the plants very soon made 
neAv roots, immediately followed by vigorous groAvth. 

Golden-Leaved Horseshoe Geranium. —If those who have the golden¬ 
leaved horseshoe geraniums will put them in the bi-ightest sunlight, the 
colors Avill be brought out so that the plant will be as beautiful as if it Avere 
covered Avith blossoms. 




394 


TEE HOUSEHOLD. 




Tlie Mud System of Slipping Plants —The following interesting 
article we find in the Babyhood Magazine: A child of five years can cut off 
a slip from a geranium, verbena, heliotrope, carnation, fuchsia, or even a 

rosebush, taking care that the 
slip is made from the young 
or green shoot; and in a plate 
or saucer filled with wet sand 
it will root just as quickly and 
as well as if put in by the 
hands of a gardener—provided 
care is taken that the sand in 
the saucer is kept wet by add¬ 
ing a little w T ater to it each day 
until the slips show the small 
roots. The slip should be cut 
in the way shown in the draw¬ 
ing, taking it off either between 
or below the joints. The sau¬ 
cer holding the slips should be 
placed in some sunny window 
where it is warm enough for a little child. Nearly 
all kinds of slips can be rooted at any time of the 
year; but some, such as the coleus, salvias, and 
various plants called “ warm-blooded,” had bet¬ 
ter not be slipped until the warm weather comes 
in May. 

The slips will begin to show the little roots in 
from two to three weeks after being put in the 
saucers. They should then be potted in little 
pots about two inches deep, which the gardeners 
call thumb-pots. The slips should be potted in 
rich, soft mold, which can be procured from any 
florist. Good garden earth will also do, only it 
must not be wet and sticky. If it can only be got in a very wet condition, 
dry stove-ashes may be mixed with it. 

When the slips are to be potted, first fill the little flower-pot full of earth, 
then with the fore-finger make a hole in the center big enough to put the 
roots in. Gently press the earth 
all around the roots, making it 
level and smooth on the top; 
then with a watering-pot sprinkle 
slightly the slips, now plants. 

Every other day they will require 
watering until they begin to put 
little white roots to the edge of 
the pot, which can be seen by 
giving the pot a tap on the table, 
and turning the contents out just 
like jelly from a glass. After 
the soil in the little pots gets filled with roots, which will be in four or five 
weeks from the time the slips were placed in them, it will be well to trans¬ 
plant into pots three or four inches deep. By May the slips that were put 
in the saucers to root in February or March will have made plants large 



























395 


FLORICULTURE . 

enough to set out in the open garden, and by midsummer will be fine 
bushes covered with blossoms. 

Fuchsias. —Fuchsias, after being exhausted with blooming, should have 
the terminal shoots all clipped off, and be repotted in a soil composed of leaf 
mold. In a few weeks new shoots full of flower buds will start all over, 
growing rapidly. 

Rustic Flower Stand—A very simple and graceful arrangement for 
flowers requiring no more space than the tiny violet or crocus, or some 



RUSTIC FLOWER STAND. 


bright blossoming dwarf plant. A box frame, with four “ posts ” to sup¬ 
port the roof, is all the foundation required. The rest is made of neatly 
cut pieces of s*raw, braided with three rows of red-stained willow or 
cane. The pretty flower pavilion is ornamented with wheat sheafs and 
grasses. Bright colored autumn leaves, pressed and varnished, would look 
charming mingled with grasses. They can be fastened about the frame 
with wire. 

The Verbena. —The verbena is one of our most popular bedding plants, 
and is also used by many persons as a window plaut, though for this pur¬ 
pose it is not generally recommended, as it does not do well in an atmos- 
























396 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


phere warmer than 50 degrees or 55 degrees, and must have plenty of sun¬ 
light, two requisites which but few persons can command. In the conserva¬ 
tory they should be given a top shelf, kept moderately dry and never 
watered in the morning, or when the sun would be likely to shine upon 
them before the foliage is dry, as it causes mildew; give fresh air whenever 
it is practicable to do so, and keep the plants stout and bushy by pinching 
back stray branches. A soil composed of two parts loam, two parts well- 
rotted manure and one part sand suits them best. Keep the surface soil 
loose and porous, to allow air to reach the roots, and provide good drainage. 
If green fly appears fumigate with tobacco. To perpetuate the verbena use 
small cuttings taken from fresh growth instead of layers or old roots. The 
best way is to start the plants from seeds in the spring. By this means the 
plants do not bloom quite so early, but they are more hardy and vigorous, 
and flower more pi-ofiisely than those grown from cuttings. Seedling plants 
are always the most satisfactox-y for bedding, and the only fault that can be 
found with them is, that the colors do not always come true from seeds. 

Preserving Autumn Leaves. —Axxtixmu leaves are used iu various 
methods, the most popxxlar being, perhaps, to dry them flatly and carefully, 
and take great caro to preserve their stalks. When thoroughly dry they are 
varnished, which gives them a pretty gloss and also acts as a presei'vative to 
them from all insects and moths. After this they are carefully laid aside 
for the decoration of the winter dinner table, and may be most safely pre¬ 
served in a tin box with a well fitting cover. Grasses added to them ai*e 
very effective, and when dry they may be dyed. They may be also frosted 
when dry, by dipping each stalk into a solution of alum and leaving them to 
dry xxpi-ight. With the grasses and leaves nxav be used the dried everlast¬ 
ing flowers and the prepared moss, but I must warn my readers that no little 
taste is needed in their arrangement to avoid the least heaviness of effect. I 
have foixnd that glass vases and stands are the most effective for their ax*- 
rangement, as the transparency of these increases the wished-for likeness 
and grace. Axiother way of xxsing the dried leaves is for the ornamentation 
of tables, blotting books, or boxes. Old cigar boxes, when painted black, 
are very favorite articles for decoration, but now we know the value of var¬ 
nished xxnpainted wood, I fancy that many people will prefer the effect of the 
cigar boxes xxnpainted, with the xxnvarnislied leaves gummed on, and the box 
and leaves varnished afterward. If, however, a black ground be especially 
desired, xxse “ Brunswick black” to stain the wood, or “Brunswick black” 
and turpentine mixed to make a rich looking brown groxxnding. Then gum 
on the leaves in a central gi*oup, being careful to cut away all the under 
parts of the leaves, which will be hidden by othei-s above, as too many 
thicknesses of leaf will make an uneven sui-face, and give an ugly appear¬ 
ance to the work when finished. 

Tlie Tuberose- -Becaxxse many farmei's’ wives cherish the belief that 
some wonderful skill attends the cxxltivation of this plant, they deny them¬ 
selves the pleasure of its possession. The bxxlbs must be lifted before there 
is any danger from fi’ost, and spi’ead in a warm, sxxnny place to thoroughly 
dry. If they become chilled in any way, either before being lifted or during 
the winter, their value is destroyed. But if kept in a warm closet, they will 
repay for all the trouble by their spikes of beautifully pure and fragrant 
blossoms. 

Tuberoses are reproduced very rapidly. Therefore, after a start has 


397 


FLORICULTURE . 

°n ce b ee n made with a collection of bulbs of one, two and three years’ 
growth, the owner can continue to set the same, and there will be no trouble 
m havmg all that are desired. 

1 here is no difficulty about the planting and cultivation. They will do 
well on any soil that will produce a good crop of corn. The soil should be 
made mellow, so as to be easily worked, and the bulbs set at such distance 
apart as the extent of surface will allow, and covered with the soil. All 
the cultivation that is necessary is to keep the soil mellow and free from 
weeds. 

If desired for early blooming the bulbs may be set in boxes the latter 
part of the winter, and kept 
watered, and in a warm 
room. They will then come 
to flowering earlier than if 
not set in the ground until 
all danger from frost is past. 

Let every farmer’s wife 
and daughter cultivate a 
few of these plants that so 
beautify and adorn the 
home. 

A Miniature Green 
House. —This is a conveni- 
e n t and ornamental ap¬ 
paratus for growing flower¬ 
ing house plants, or for 
starting cuttings or seeds 
early in the season that are 
afterwards to be transplant¬ 
ed to open ground. B B is 
a large earthen vessel or 
pot, in the center of which, 
at the bottom, the small pot, 

A, is inverted. The space 
G G around this is filled 
with drainage material. On 
the top of this pot a smaller 
one, C, of porous earthen, 
and having straight sides, is 
set, and the space around 
this, D D and E E, is filled 
with mold and sand in which two circles of plants may be set. The pot, C, 
is filled with water, which percolates through the porous sides and keeps 
the mold moist enough for purposes of vegetation. Over all the bell glass, 
F, is placed. If the boll glass and large pot cannot be obtained conveniently, 
the same principles can be nearly carried out by constructing a square box 
of wood and framing panes of glass for the cover. 

]Vovel Method of Enriching Plants. —A French writer recommends 
a novel mode of enriching and promoting the growth, especially of gera¬ 
niums. Namely: Watering the plants with a solution of 150 grains of glue 
in about two gallons of water. 



A MINIATURE GREEN HOUSE. 


































m THE HOUSEHOLD. 

A Beautiful Basket Plant —The finest hanging baskets we have ever 
seen, have been of single plants of the ivy-leaved geranium. The richness 
and elegance of the foliage, and the drooping or trailing habit of tins plant 
are qualifications it possesses, rendering it eminently serviceable for baskets 
and vases. One plant is enough for a basket, but except in rare cases, it 
will require more time than is afforded the first season to show in its best 
condition. The plant is easily kept over winter, and the second season, if 
attention is given by the use of manure-water to sustain it, the growth will 
be exuberant. There are now so many varieties of this plant, that one has 
the opportunity to indulge his taste in selection. There are golden yellow¬ 
leaved ones, bronze, green with white margin, and one, L’Elegante, that has 
its green leaves margined with white that is tinged and streaked with pink. 
The colors of the flowers are different with each variety; there are scarlet, 
and crimson, and rose, and pink and white; again, there are single and 
double flowers. One of the best varieties for a hanging basket, on account 
of its fine foliage and free growth, is the double-flowered sort, Ivoenig Albert, 
having mauve or purplish lilac-colored flowers. The double flowers last 
much longer than the single ones, and this adds much to the value of the 
plant. For large baskets, where the best effect is desired in a short time, 
several of these plants of different kinds could be used for the margin, with 
other plants in the center 

Growing House Plants in Moss. —In one of the Swiss villages nearly 
all the inhabitants are engaged in watch making. They work in large rooms, 
which, being abundantly lighted and well warmed, allow the workmen to 
cultivate plants that, on account of the uncertainty and rigor of the climate, 
cannot be grown in the open air. The president of one of the local horti¬ 
cultural societies in Switzerland gives an account of the great success with 
which plants are cultivated in moss in these watch factories. One great ad¬ 
vantage in the use of moss is the readiness with which plants may be 
grouped in large vases and boxes. In France a “fertilized moss”is sold, 
but ordinary moss, with occasional application of liquid fertilizers, will 
answer as well. Ordinary sphagnum, or peat moss, such as is used by 
florists in packing, may be employed, but the writer prefers the moss which 
grows in sheets upon rocks, and around the trunks of trees at their base. 
Wire baskets lined with this moss are used, as are jardinieres of metal, glazed 
pottery, etc., taking care to provide sufficient drainage. The liquid fer¬ 
tilizer used on these house plants should be without unpleasant odor; weak 
guano water, solutions of njtrate of soda, or sulphate of ammonia may be 
employed, and very fine flour of bone may be mixed with the moss. 

Dutch Honeysuckle in the House. —An English writer gives the fol¬ 
lowing, which suggests a way in which hardy wood-climbers might be made 
available for window decoration in winter or early spring: 

“ Some years ago, as I was passing through a room used only occa¬ 
sionally, I perceived an odor of fresh flowers that surprised me, as none 
were ever kept there. On raising the curtain of the east window, I saw that 
a branch of Dutch honeysuckle had found its way between the two sashes at 
one corner, while growing in the summer, and had extended itself quite 
across the window; and on the branch inside there were three or four clus¬ 
ters of well-developed flowers, with the usual accompaniment of leaves, 
while on the main bush outside there was not a leaf to be seen. The flowers 
inside were just as beautiful and fragrant as if they had waited until the 


FLORICULTURE. 


399 



MEGARRHIZA CALIFORNICA.—FIG. 1. 


natural time of blooming. Since then I have tried the experiment purposely, 
and always with the same good result.” A heavy covering of the ground 
over the roots of the plants 
with leaves, and sufficient 
protection of the stem outside, 
would allow this method to 
be practiced in quite severe 
climates. 

Some New Plants Of¬ 
fered by German Florists. 

—Among the new plants of¬ 
fered by German florists, we 
take occasion to note the fol¬ 
lowing: 

Megarrhiza Californica, 

Fig. 1, is a new and very rapid 
growing member of the Cu- 
curbitaceae family, of the 
same elegant habit and hand¬ 
some appearance as Pilogyne 
suaris, but of much larger di¬ 
mensions, the stems often at¬ 
taining a length of twenty to 
thirty feet in one season. 

The beautiful, glossy, silvery leaves, about three to six inches in diameter, 
bear short scattered hairs, the small white sterile flowers appearing in 

slender racemes, while the 
fertile ones grow singly, and 
are somewhat larger; the ob¬ 
long shaped fruits, about two 
inches long, are densely cov¬ 
ered with stout, pungent 
spines, similar to those of the 
Cucurbitacese introduced up 

as a broad bean, and ger¬ 
minating as easily and surely 
as pumpkin seeds. The plant 
becomes fully developed when 
grown as an annual, but it can 
also be cultivated as a peren¬ 
nial, as it produces long and 
large tuberous roots. 

Bromus Patulus Nanus, 
Fig. 2, is quite a new form of 
this very valuable ornamental 
grass, d i ffe r i n g from the 
original species, not only in its 
lower growth, but far more in its much more graceful, thinner and shorter 
panicles. By comparing a panicle of Bromus patulus with the one shown in 
natural sizo in the figure, the superiority of the above-named sort may 



BBOMUS PATULUS NANUS.—FIG 





400 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 




easily be noticed. This variety has already been cultivated for several 
years, and has proved perfectly true from seed. It represents a valuable 
addition to the assortment of ornamental grasses grown on an extensive 

scale for bleaching purposes or 
dry grass bouquets. 

Rhynchocarpa Glomerata, 
Fig. 3, is a charming and inter¬ 
esting climbing member of the 
same family, from Brazil, grow¬ 
ing twelve to fifteen feet in 
height. Its branching habit and 
thickly-set, abundant foliage 
make it especially well adapted 
for covering arbors and fences, 
or for garnishing festoons. The 
whitish flowers, as is mostly the 
case in this tribe of plants, are 
not very conspicuous, but the 
deeply-cut, five-lobed leaves, 
together with the numerous 
hazle-nut-like fruits appearing 
in dense clusters, render this 
rhynchocarpa olomerata.— no. 3. plant one of the most attractive 

climbers for outdoor culture. 
To judge by the tuberous-like root it may be treated as a perennial, but it 
succeeds well in any warm border as an annual. 

Begonia Davisii, Fig. 4, is a beautiful free-flowering new tuberous-rooted 
species of dwarf habit. The 
flowers are of the brightest 
scarlet imaginable, standing 
well out of the foliage, as 
the illustration shows plain¬ 
ly. Undoubtedly it is one 
of the finest introductions 
among the tuberous-rooted 
class. 


A Sponge Garden.—A 

hanging garden of sponge is 
one of the latest novelties in 
gardening. Take a white 
sponge of large size, and sow 
it full of rice, oats and wheat. 

Then place it for a week or 
ten days in a shallow dish, in 
which a little water is con¬ 
stantly kept, and as the 
sponge w T ill absorb the moist¬ 
ure, the seeds will begin to 
sprout before many days. When this has fairly taken place, the sponge may | 
be suspended by means of cords from a hook in the top of the window/ 
where a little sun will enter. It will thus become a mass of green, and caix; 
be kept wet by merely immersing it in a bow l of water. 


BEGONIA DAVISII.—FIG. 4. 


1 


i 



FLORICULTURE. 


401 



An Ivy Screen. —The old Celtic word for cord is Hedra, hence the gen¬ 
eric name of the true ivies, in allusion to their cord-like stems. The most 
common species is the Hedra helix, native of various parts of Britain, and 
from which many varieties have been produced. Old ruins of castles and 
churches, as well as the sacred temples of a later day, are often half con¬ 
cealed with the deep green leaves of ivy. In our climate these plants do 
not succeed as well in the open air as in some portions of Europe; still, when 
planted in a half shady position on the north side of the wall, the hardy spe¬ 
cies will thrive most luxuriantly, as may be seen by examining some of the 
old specimens in our Eastern cities. 

The ivies are especially valuable for covering rock work, either natural 
or artificial, particularly when it is located in a cool, shady place, where few 
other plants will thrive. Within the past few years our florists have paid 
far more attention to the cultivation of ivy than formerly, and great numbers 
of plants are sold every year for hanging baskets and similar ornaments. 
Among the many fine climbers grown as house plants, there are few that 
succeed as well as the 
hardy ivies, for they re¬ 
quire very little care, not 
being very sensitive to cold, 
and thrive better in shade 
than when exposed to the 
direct rays of the sun. 

The ivies are also very 
readily propagated by cut¬ 
tings made from almost 
any portion of the stem, 
whether old or young, and 
they will strike root in al¬ 
most any kind of soil, clay, 
loam, peat, or sand, al¬ 
though a mixture of the 
last two is preferable to the 
former. It must not, how¬ 
ever, be supposed that be— an ivy sckeen 

cause ivy will grow in a 

poor soil, that it does not prefer one that is rich; and if a strong growth is 
desired, generous treatment must be given. 

Many beautiful ornaments may be made with these plants, and one of 
the most unique as well as useful, is the ivy as shown in the illustration. 
Such a screen cannot be made in a few days, but requires time, care and pa¬ 
tience. Provide a strong box of the length required for the screen, and fill 
it with silver-sand, peat, or leaf mold, adding a small quantity of soil scraped 
up in the barnyard. Some old pieces of bricks broken up finely may be 
placed in the bottom before the soil is put in; then fill up to within an inch 
of the top. Plant either well-rooted slips or cuttings, and then give water 
whenever required, but do not keep the soil constantly soaked. When the 
plants begin to grow, carefully tie them to slender stakes until they are 
three feet high, and then put up the frame for the screen, which should be 
of wire, painted green, and of any design to suit the fancy or purse of the 
owner. As the plants grow, the small shoots may be drawn through the 
meshes of wire and interlaced, until both sides of the screen become a solid 
Wall of “Ivy green,” 













402 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


We know that our lady readers will readily appreciate this hint, and 
know just where to place such a screen to produce the most desirable eflect 
in a room, as well as how to keep the leaves free from dust, so that they 
will show to the best advantage. If a solid wall of green is considered too 
dark and gloomy, some of the variegated sorts may be intermingled with the 
plain leaved, but unless carefully tended and watched they will often ap¬ 
pear sickly and wither away. 



A Living Vase.—This process of ornamenting vases is by no means new; 
but, as the thing is still far from being common, and as it may give some 
one a new idea by which to help beautify the home, we have deemed it worth 
while to give a representation of it so as to show the result, and to indicate 
the means employed to obtain it, 'which are most simple. Though any kind 

of vases can be used indiscrim¬ 
inately, those in unglazed terra¬ 
cotta are preferable, being por¬ 
ous. In such vessels the water 
with which the vase is filled 
percolates constantly through 
the sides and moistens the 
plants which are fixed on its 
surface. This kind of vase is, 
however, not indispensable, for 
we can ornament all kinds, 
whether in glass or metal. In 
the latter case it is necessary to 
prepare the surface so as to 
convert it into a sort of soil, 
which it really represents—an 
operation which is easily man¬ 
aged by the aid of a piece of 
cloth or flannel which is fixed 
by means of a little packthread 
or thin iron or brass wire. This 
being understood, the means 
employed to grow the seed 
must next be described. 

If a porous vase be used it 
is filled with water or, better still, left in a pail of water to soak. After a 
lapse of 24 hours, when the water has thoroughly saturated the vase, it is 
laid on its side, and the seed sprinkled slightly over the surface, taking care 
to turn the vase in different directions, in order that the whole surface may 
be w T ell covered with seed. This operation terminated, the vase is placed in 
a dark closet for some time, and, if possible, under a glass frame, so as to 
preserve humidity and facilitate germination. When the plants are developed, 
and in case they get detached from the vase, they are secured by passing 
round, in different directions, a little packthread or fine wire, which soon 
disappears under the vegetation. 

If a non-porous vase, after having well soaked the cloth which covers it, 
the seed is sown upon it and the same care is given it as has already been 
indicated. When a porous vase is used it should be kept constantly full, 
as it is the water filtering slowly through it that feeds the plants which 
cover the sides. If that be insufficient to insure vigorous growth, the vaso 


A LIVING VASE. 












FLORICULTURE. 


403 


must be watered, taking care to pour the water cautiously, so as not to de¬ 
tach the plants. If glazed or metal vases be used, glass bottles, for in¬ 
stance, they must be constantly watered; the water should be poured from 
the top over all, so that, in descending, it wets all parts of the cloth, which 
should always be damp. Whenever the plants droop they must be refreshed 
by watering them carefully. The vase should stand in a saucer or plate. 

The seeds used should be very fine, and especially light and of easy and 
quick germination. The common garden cress is most suitable from its 
great rapidity of growth, the easy and very quick germination of its seeds, 
and also on account of the little nourishment the plant requires; but it has 
several drawbacks; first, it has a tendency to sink more or less, then to have 
gaps, to show flowers very quickly and then to wither away. The common 
ryegrass is also suitable, but experiments with other seeds may be made. 
We ought to multiply and vary the experiments until satisfactory results are 
obtained. The following kinds of plants might prove suitable: Crested 
Dog’s-tail Grass, White Clover, Yellow Clover (Meduago lupnluia), Flax, but 
particularly the Timothy Grass (Phleum pralense), which appears to be sin¬ 
gularly appropriate for this mode of ornamentation. Let our readers experi¬ 
ment. 

How to Grow Smilax. —Smilax is an exceedingly graceful vine, with 
glossy, green-ribbed leaves, and is now more extensively used than any 
other plant for decorating parlors, the hair, and for trimming dresses. With 
a little care it can be grown successfully as a house plant. The vine does 
not require the full sun, but will grow well in a partially shaded situation. 
It can be trained on a small thread across the window or around the pic¬ 
tures. Grown from both seeds and bulbs. Pot the bulbs as soon as re¬ 
ceived, watering but little until you see signs of growth. They groAv very 
rapidly and should always have strings to twine on. Give plenty of fresh 
air, but be careful and not let a direct draft of cold air blow upon the vines, 
as they are very tender when young. Give them a warm place and they will 
amply repay all care. When growth is complete the foliage will turn yellow. 
Then gradually withhold water and allow the bulbs to dry. They then can 
be put in some cool, dry place. After they have been in this dormant state 
six or eight weeks they will begin to show signs of life, and then are ready 
for another season’s growth. 

Ferns in the House.— I should like to say to the person who wishes to 
know what ferns can be grown in the house, that I have had for three win¬ 
ters, in a furnace heated parlor, very handsome plants of Aspidium molle 
and Adiantum cuneatum; and I have a friend who has Pteris tremula, look¬ 
ing as well as it could in a greenhouse. I also know that Pteris hastata does 
well in the house; so does the Japanese climbing fern and Lygodium scan- 
dons. All require to be kept comfortably warm, not too wet, and seldom 
sprinkled—just often enough to keep them clean. I have found that wet¬ 
ting the foliage ofien causes it to turn black. 

To Keep Geraniums Hire ugh the Winter. —Those who have no 
place in their greenhouses for geraniums, etc., will do well to put them in 
a window with a south aspect, carefully covering the pots with a little straw 
or moss, in order to prevent the frost from hurting the roots. Or take them 
from the pots and hang them up by the roots in a dark place, where the 
frost cannot touch them; if planted again in the spring they will shoot ant] 
flourish remarkably well, 


404 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Wardian Cases.—An illustration of a Wardian case is herewith given. 
A bed or box of well-drained soil, with a (cheap or costly) glass case over 
it, comprise a Wardian case. The sides should be of glass, else the plants 
will “ spinder up.” Take a common table frame, with the top of the table 
off; nail on boards on the bottom of the frame, line the whole w'ith zinc, fill 
with earth (or set the plants in the case in pots', and over it put a case made 
of glass—common window glass will answer. Any glazier can make one at 
little cost. It may be made of any shape and height desirable. There 
should be a door or sliding pane in it, so as to gain ready access to the 
plants. In the center of the bed should be a hole for drainage, over which 
a plant saucer should be inverted. Fill the bottom or the bed for an inch or 
two with broken charcoal. 

The case may be filled with plants in spring or autumn. If in spring, the 
ferns may be gathered from the woods, and will’ grow all summer. It is a 

better time to make selec¬ 
tions than late in the fall. 
Plants in a Wardian case are 
not so likely to freeze with 
the same degree of cold in a 
room as unprotected house 
plants; but the room should 
be kept warm, nevertheless. 
The plants in a Wardian case 
require less care than plants 
in a room. Drench the soil 
well when the planting is 
done, and they will require 
watering but once cr twice a 
month. They will need ven¬ 
tilation by removing the slid¬ 
ing pane or opening the door 
of the case occasionally, when 
the moisture on the glass 
seems in excess, so as to ob¬ 
scure the glass. 

Not only ferns and 
A wardian case. mosses, but wintergreens, 

princess pine, partridge 
berry, the trailing arbutus, and scores of other pretty wood -plants, can be 
grown and arranged with rock and shell work, to suit the fancy and please 
the eye. We are astonished that these cases are not more common in the 
homes of the people. 

Fresh-Blown Flowers in Winter —Choose some of the most perfect 
buds of the flowers you wish to preserve, such as are latest in blooming 
and are ready to open; cut them off with a pair of scissors, leaving to each, 
if possible, a piece of stem about three inches long; cover the end of the 
stem immediately with sealing wax, and avhen the buds are a little shrunk 
and wrinkled wrap each of them up separately in a piece of paper, perfectly 
clean and dry; then lock them up in a dry box or drawer, and they will keep 
without corrupting. In winter, or at any time, avhen you would have the 
flowers blow, take the buds at night and cut off the end of the stem sealed 
with wax, and put the buds into water wherein a little nitre of se.lt has been 














































fit OlHCULTURfi. 405 

diffused; the next day you will have the pleasure of seeing the buds open 
and expand themselves, and the flowers display their most lovely colors and 
breathe their agreeable odors. 

Parlor Ornament. —We saw, in the parlor of a friend, a very beautiful 
conceit. It is, of course, the fancy of a lady, and consists of the burr of a 
pine tree placed in a wine glass half full or water, and from between the 
different layers of the burr are shooting forth green blades—bright, beauti¬ 
ful, refreshing. For a little thing, we have seen nothing that so pleased us 
by its beauty and novelty. And the secret is this: The burr was found dried 
and open; the different circles were sprinkled with grass-seed, and it was 
placed in a wine glass Avith water in as above. In a few days the moisture 
and nourishment gave the burr life and health, the different circles closed 
and buried within themselves the grass-seed, and a few days more gave to 
the seed also life, sprout and growth, and now a pyramid of living green, 
beautifully relieved by the somber hue of the burr, is the result—as pretty 
and novel a parlor ornament as we have for a long whilo seen. We do not 
know whether the idea was original with the lady, but we do know that its 
success is beautiful. 

Arranging Bouquets. —The art of arranging bouquets is very simple. 
Having collected the flowers to be used on a tray, all the superfluous leaves 
should be stripped from the steins, and by placing the flowers side by side, 
you can easily see the order in which they can be most advantageously dis¬ 
played. A very pretty hand bouquet can be made by taking a small, straight 
stick, not over a quarter of an inch in diameter, tie a string to the top of it, 
and begin by fastening on a few delicate flowers, cr one large, handsome 
one, for the center-piece, winding the string about each stem as you add the 
flowers and leaves to the bouquet. Always place the floAvers Avith the 
shortest stems at the top, preserving all those with long stems for the base, 
and finish off the bouquet Avith a fringe of finely cut foliage. Then cut all 
the stems evenly, Avrap damp cotton around them, and cover the stems with 
a paper cut in pretty lace designs. In making bouquets from garden flowers, 
such as are most easy to procure, the flowers can bo arranged flatly, and a 
background made from sprays of evergreen. 

A Cheap Plant Stand._We made a very effective plant stand for our 
front yard last summer in the following manner: A cedar stake, tAvo or three 
inches in diameter, Avas driven into the ground so as to stand firmly, and of 
the required height, a small piece of board nailed across the top, and another 
piece, a little larger, nailed over this, so as to make a substantial base, and 
a cheese box nailed to this. Then Ave filled the box half full by putting in a 
couple of inches of sand and sphagnum over it. The Avhole was then covered 
with pendent lichen, and the box filled Avitli plants in pots, tall ones in the 
center and smaller one around them, Avith trailing plants to hang over the 
sides. It Avas shaded by trees during the hotter portions of the day, and 
such plants as gleechoma, alyssum, ivy, etc., succeeded finely by merely 
pressing a handful of sphagnum around the base of cuttings and pressing 
them into the spaces betAveen the pots. 

A Fern Piti-iicll.se nt Home. —It is not only the poor avIio have to live 
in gardenless dAvellings and look out from sunless windoAvs. The mansions 
of the rich, and thousands of houses of the Avell-to-do and of the middle 
classes are necessarily in great cities placed Avhere the sun cannot exert his 


10G 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 



charming life-giving influence. Many a window of a grand house looks out 
upon nothing but brick walls, which tower up high, and blot out the sun’s 
rays. The occupants of these houses are often bound by the exigencies of 
business to make their homes for weary months in these shadowy dwelling 
places. Why then do they not bring the beautiful ferns into requisition ? 

What exquisite grace would be shed over eveiw room in a house ii every 
available space were occupied by the feathery fronds of those beautiful 

plants! On tables and side 
boards, on mantel pieces and 
on window sills; hanging 
from window rods, on the 
landing of the stairs, in the 
hall, in the bedroom—every¬ 
where in fact. 

We give an illustration of 
a cane stand lined with zinc 
and filled with ferns and be¬ 
gonias, which might be 
bought for a dollar or two, 
and which would not be out 
of place in the most elegant 
apartment. 

House Plants. —Contrive 
some cover over them at 
sweeping time. This may be, 
for plants on shelves, a cur¬ 
tain of some light material; if 
on a table, an upright post or 
stick set in a hole in the mid¬ 
dle of the table, to hold up 
the center of a spread of some 
kind; o r contrive some 
method of using old news¬ 
papers. Let this covering 
remain until the dust has 
completely settled. All 
Bmooth-leaved plants, espe¬ 
cially ivy, camelias, capo 
jessamine, and the like, 
should have their leaves 
washed with a soft sponge— 
a rag will answer—on both 
sides, with tepid w f ater, at 
least once a week. It will 
be found much less trouble 
than one would suppose, and the increased beauty of the foliage will lead to 
its repetition. Rough-leaved plants, such as geraniums, and many others, 
cannot be washed to advantage. Set these in a bath tub, or in a sink, an.l 
give their leaves a good drenching by using a garden syringe or a watering- 
pot with fine holes, holding it up high so that the water will fall with force 
upon the leaves. Be sure that the water is not too cold, as it would tend to 
check the growth. 


STAND FOR FF.RNS. 




FlOtilCULTUUE. 


407 


To Pi*eserVe Scarlet Geraniums through tlie Winter. _Take them 

out of the borders in autumn, before they have received any injury from 
frost, and let this be done on a dry day. Shake off all the earth from their 
roots, and suspend them, with their heads downward, in a cellar or dark 
room, where they will be free from frost. The leaves and shoots will be- 
come yellow and sickly; but when potted about the end of May, and exposed 
to a gentle heat, they will recover and vegetate luxuriantly. The old plants, 
stripped of their leaves, may also be packed closely in sand; and in this way 
if kept free from frost, they will shoot out from the roots, and may be re¬ 
potted in the spring. 



Manure for Bulbs. —An ounce of nitrate of soda dissolved in four gal¬ 
lons of water is a quick and good stimulant for bulbs, to be applied twice a 
week after the pots are filled with roots, and the flower spikes are fairly visi¬ 
ble. A large handful of soot, or about a pint, tied up in a piece of old can¬ 
vas, and immersed in the 
same quantity of water for 
a day or two, will fur¬ 
nish a safe and excellent 
stimulant; also good and safe 
is a quarter of a pound of cow 
manure mixed in a large gar¬ 
den pot of water, and used as 
required. Any of these stim¬ 
ulants will do good, or the 
whole of them applied alter¬ 
nately will benefit bulbs that 
need more sustenance than 
the soil affords. 


Trellis for Plants.—. 

With a little slightly-galva¬ 
nized wire any one can make 
the little iron trellis shown in 
our illustration on this page, 
in a very neat manner—and it will look much neater and prove handier and 
more graceful than the painted stick trellises which are so common. 


TRELLIS FOR PLANTS. 


How to Grow tlie Pansy. —The pansy delights in a cool, rich loam; 
the richer, the larger will be the flowers, in a partially shaded situation. It 
never flourishes as well during the hot days of July and August as later in 
the season. Young plants, from seeds sown early in the spring, if the bed 
be very rich, will come into handsome bloom during the latter part of June. 
All the first blossoms should be picked off that the plant may first become 
robust. Even with the old plants, the great secret of keeping them in con¬ 
stant bloom is to pick off the blossoms early and constantly, since it weakens 
the plant more to ripen one seed-pod than to yield a dozen flowers. 


Autumn Sowing of Flower Seeds. —Persons say that the finest flow¬ 
ers they ever had of certain annuals were from “ volunteer ” plants from 
self-grown seeds. The real reason for their superiority is not due to the 
manner, but to the time of sowing. Seeds are “ self-grown ” soon after they 
are ripe, and the superiority of the plants from these suggests autumn sow- 









408 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 

ing. The annual flowers classed as “ liardy ” should as a general thing, if 
practicable, be sown in autumn, Larkspurs and pansies are incomparably 
liner when thus sown. Clarkia. whitlavia, gilia, and nearly all the rest of the 
California annual, to give the best results, should be sown in autumn. 

To Repo* Plants —Shake the old earth from the plants after they com¬ 
mence to grow in spring, then pot them into smaller pots than those just oc¬ 
cupied; as the plants make fresh growth and fill these pots with roots, repot 
into those ot a size larger, and so on until the plants are in their flowering 
pots. By adopting this plan the plants are supplied with fresh soil from 
time to time, and not kept growing on from year to year in the same soil, 
which soon becomes exhausted. The above remarks apply more particularly 
to such plants as fuchsias, pelargoniums, etc. 

Treatment ot English Ivy —The use of the English ivy cannot be too 
strongly recommended as a decoration in our rooms during the winter sea¬ 
son. A lady noted for the beauty and freshness of her ivies was asked the 
secret ot her success, which was simply putting a small piece of beefsteak at 
the roots ot the plants every spiing and fall. It is also said that to lightly 
rub each leaf on both sides with sweet oil will preserve a fresh, vigorous 
appearance ot ivies, in spite of furnace heat and gas, usually so injurious to 
all house plants. These simple measures are well worth trying. 

How to Make Moss Baskets.— Yery beautiful baskets for holding flow¬ 
ers can bo made of tho longer and more feathery kind of mosses. A light 
frame, ot any shape you like, should be made with wire and covered with 
common pasteboard or calico, and the moss, which should first be well 
picked over and cleansed from any bits of dirt or dead leaves which may bo 
hanging about it, gathered into little tufts, and sewed with a coarse needle 
and thread to the covering so as to clothe it thickly with a close and com¬ 
pact coating, taking care that the points ot the moss are all outward. A 
long handle, made in the same manner, should be attached to the basket, 
and a tin or other vessel, filled with either wet sand or water, placed within 
to hold the flowers. By dipping the whole structure into water once in three 
or four days, its verdure and elasticity will be fully preserved, and a block 
of wood about an inch thick, and stained black or green, if placed under the 
basket, will prevent all risk of damage to the table from moisture. 

Carnations from Cuttings. —Carnations are easily rooted from slips. 
Take ofi the small side shoots when about two inches long. If your plants 
are in pots, plant them around the edge, pressing the soil very firmly about 
the portion inserted. Do not water them only when the parent plant re¬ 
quires it. If they are cultivated in the ground, plant them in the same bed, 
taking the same precaution to make the earth compact about the slips, so 
they will not dry up instead of rooting. If the ground is slightly moist, it is 
enough for them, but if very dry sprinkle occasionally. 

Gypsy Fern Case. —This fern case consists of three bars crossed at the 
top and fastened into a triangular base. A basket is suspended from the 
center of the case, and the base is decorated with shells, acorns or corals. 
The best method of making this case is to have the base first made of wood, 
then lined with zinc. The sides should hold glass neatly filled into the bars, 
thus inclosing the plants from the outer air. The height should be about 
three feet, and width of base two feet on each side. Any florist can supply 
ferns for such a structure. Choose only the smaller growing sorts, and avoid ; 







m OjRlCULT URE. 460 

those which branch widely. No household elegancy is more desirable than 
a tasteful fernery, well taken care of. 

Fuchsias Among Roses —A London florist had some of his standard 
roses killed by the late spring frosts, but having some large fuchsia plants, 
they were used to fill up the “ ugly gaps,” and the result was a pleasant 
surprise. They stood the rough weather well, and vied with the roses as to 
quantity of bloom. He says: “ If all is well we shall use fuchsias more ex¬ 
tensively next season.” 

Treatment of Callas —For blooming callas, writes a lady, I use the 
soil from the hennery, and on cold mornings I pour hot water in the sau¬ 
cers; I have had a bloom from every bulb. As my fuchsias never grew very 
large, I put in fresh soil and then used some fine manure from the hennery, 
and before spring it covered the window, with every shoot in full bloom. 

Frozen Plants— Whenever house-plants are accidentally frozen, they 
should be placed in a dark place and then sprinkled with cold water Gera¬ 
niums, fuchsias, and similar kinds of plants, may often be saved if care is 
given in thawing them out, even if frozen quite hard. The same rule applies 
to dormant plants, such as grape vines and trees that become frozen while 
being carried from one section of the country to another. If packages of 
plants are received in this condition they should be placed in a cellar and 
then sprinkled with cold water, and allowed to remain undisturbed until 
thawed. Burying in the earth will answer equally as well, although seldom 
convenient in cold weather. Hardy plants, when well packed in damp moss, 
seldom receive any injury from frost. 

Potting and Watering Plants.-. Plants cultivated in the house often 
suffer from being put into pots very much too large for them. The mass of 
soil, which is quite out of proportion to their needs, by frequent watering, 
soon gets into such a sour and sodden condition, that the roots rot away 
completely and the plant dies. Even when the amount of soil is not greater 
than the plant needs, it is qitite an easy matter to give too much water to 
succulents, such as the cactus family, the agaves, crassulas, and others of 
like habit. In fact, these plants, when at rest, as most of them are during 
winter, need scarcely a drop of water. 

Covering for Tender Plants. —A horticultural writer says: I always 
disliked the looks of clumsy straw and matting coverings for plants. It 
made the garden look so mean that I thought I would try another plan. I 
had read that evergreen boughs were the best thing with which to cover 
pansies and any tender plants, so I thought I would try it on tender roses 
and such things, and I never had such success. I believe there is some¬ 
thing beneficial in the balsamine odor of the leaves, the plants look so nice— 
almost like summer. 

A Novel House Plant. —The common cranberry is a most attractive 
plant when properly cultivated in pots, and can endure a great deal of neg¬ 
lect which would be fatal to other plants. It only needs to be kept cool and 
moist. A compost of muck and sand is the proper material for potting it in. 
Although usually regarded as aquatic in its nature, it will not do to have 
the soil saturated with water. What it requires, is that water shall be 
within reach of its roots, and that the soil shall be one through which water 
can rise readily by capillary attraction. 


410 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Crystallizing Grasses —A lady asks for directions for crystallizing 
grasses. The following is a good recipe: Dissolve in a quart of hot water all 
the alum you can by heating and stirring—it may be a pound, it may be 
twenty ounces. Have the grasses divided into small bunches, tied. AN hen 
the solution begins to cool, dip in the grassed, holding them there five min¬ 
utes, three minutes, two or one minute, according to the size of crystals you 
wish. The cooler the solution the quicker the crystals form. A glass jar is 
convenient for heating the alum, as one can see through the glass when the 
crvstals are forming, and know when to take them out. Do not let the grass 
touch the side of the jar. Haoe an old plate under the bottom to prevent 
the glass breaking. 

A Home-Made Flower Stand.—A very pretty flower stand can be 
made out of a table, a bucket, and a half a dozen old tin cans. Place the 
bucket in the center of the table. Punch several holes in the bottom of each 
can, and screw them firmly to the table by screws in the holes. 

Arches of stout wire may be made across the top of the cans. For ferns 
planted in the cans, which require a great deal of water, cover the top of 
the table with a shallow pan to catch the drip. Other plants should only 
have the soil kept damp. Geraniums are fine for winter blooming, as are 
also coleus, fuchsias, and petunias. Some kind of a vine should be planted 
in each of the corner cans. Trailing plants produce a good effect. 

The Acorn. —If an acorn be suspended by a piece of thread within half 
an inch of the surface of some water contained in a hyacinth glass, and so 
permitted to remain without being disturbed, it will, in a few months, burst, 
and throw a root into the water, and shoot upward its straight and tapering 
stem, with beautiful little green leaves. A young oak tree growing in this 
way on the mantel-shelf of a room is a very elegant and interesting object. 

I have seen several oak trees, and also a chestnut tree, thus growing, but 
all of them, however, have died after a few months, probably owing to the 
water not being changed sufficiently often to afford them the necessary quan¬ 
tity of nourishment from the matter contained in it. 

Moving Plants.—In the fall those plants that are to be taken to the 
house to serve as window plants for the winter, should be looked after before 
the season arrives for their removal. If, with a sharp spade, each plant is 
cut around, so as to leave a ball of earth the right size for the pot, and then 
allowed to remain two or three weeks, young fibrous roots will form; when 
the plant, with the ball of earth attached is lifted, it will scarcely experience 
any check. 

To Keep a Bouquet Fresh.—To keep a bouquet fresh for a number of 
days, sprinkle lightly "with fresh water, then put it into a vessel containing 
soapsuds, -which nutrify the roots and keep the fiow r ers as bright as new. 
Take the bouquet out of the suds every morning and lay it sideways, the 
stalk entering first into the water. Keep it there a moment, then take it 
out and sprinkle the flowers lightly by the hand with water. Replace it in 
the soapsuds, and it will bloom as fresh as when first gathered. The soap- 
sitds need changing every other day. 

Watering Plants. —The following directions for watering house plants 
during the winter will assist those having care of them in keeping them 
in a healthy condition: Take carbonate of ammonia four parts; nitrate of 


411 


floriculture. 

potash (saltpetre) two parts; pulverize and mix well. Put One drachm (one- 
eighth of an ounce) of this powder into a gallon of rain water. Use this for 
watering plants. Give them a good sunlight and not too much heat, and 
plants will keep green and fresh. 

Flowers kept in a warm room should be watered with tepid water. Very 
cold water is apt to freeze the roots. 

Starting Plants. —Boxes in Avindows is an excellent way of starting 
plants for early setting, though it must necessarily be on a small scale. For 
a small garden a good supply may thus be procured: In sowing the seeds, 
avoid putting them in too deep; a half inch is ample for all, and a less depth 
is better for the small seeds. Press the soil closely around the seed. 

Steam Baths for Geraniums. —Geraniums and similar plants are 
greatly benefitted during winter if given a steam bath once a week. To do 
this place them above the bath after filling it with hot water. Close the 
doors and windows and let the flowers remain there for an hour or two. 
Another good method is to place the flowers in the kitchen on wash day, 
where the steam arising from the clothes will benefit them. 

Plant Fertilizers. —Two or three ounces of guano to a gallon of water 
is a proper proportion for house plants. Keep the mixture well stirred, as 
the guano, not being actually dissolved by the water, settles to the bottom. 
Save the soot that falls from the chimneys when they are cleaned. A pint 
of soot to a pailful of water will make a liquid manure of the greatest value 
for flower beds and plants of all kinds. 

Cut Back tke Geraniums. —But few persons cut them back enough. 
If the stalks are cut back to within two or three inches of the surface of the 
ground, numerous healthy side shoots will put out and grow vigorously. 

Tke Amaryllis. —If any one has an amaryillis she will find it will blos¬ 
som more freely if the dirt is kept away from the top of the bulb. An ama¬ 
ryllis should have plenty of water. 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


Preventives of Malaria. —Scarcely a section of our beautiful country 
is free from malarial disease in some of its forms. Many localities formerly 
free from malaria have recently been visited by this insidious foe of 
humanity. Two reasons are given for this result: First, the ponds 
and swamps have been dried up, and the lower forms of organic matter 
have been exposed to the air, and second, wells and springs have become so 
low that the water is very impure, and no doubt its use produces an un¬ 
healthy state of the human body. 

If the use of impure water alone were the cause of malarial difficulties 
the remedy would be simple, namely, to substitute pure water instead, if it 
could be had, or by filtration and other means, purify what was at hand. 

The malarial influence arising from swamps or marshes can be only 
counteracted by aerating the soil and thus getting rid of the lower organisms 
resident there. Bv means of drainage the sour soil w ater is carried off, the 
air enters and decay is completed—the poison is destroyed and a more 
healthful condition ensues. 

But there are vast stretches of country where these means cannot be em¬ 
ployed, and other methods must be provided. It is now pretty well proven 
by actual plantings in California of the blue gum tree, or Eucalyptus of 
Australia, that by its use over a sufficient area the malarial tendencies can 
be counteracted. Unfortunately, by actual test, we find that the Eucalyptus 
Globosa will not endure the cold of this section of the Union. 

What then can w r e employ? Professor Maury, before our late internecine 
war, proved at the Washington Observatory that extensive plantations of the 
common sunflower will, during its growing season, counteract malaria. 
These can be grown all over our States, and should be extensively tried. 

The common willow, being a coarse feeder and rapid grower, revelling im 
wet and swampy land, has also been commended as one of the very best 
agents for the destruction of malarial germs. Its roots spread widely 
through the soil, while its leafage is simply enormous in proportion to its 
woody development. The three sorts of willow grow with great rapidity, 
but more immediate effects may be produced by planting sprouts of the 
osier or basket willow thickly all over the whole of a wet or swampy surface 
soil. 

This w T ould be a remunerative product aside from its destruction of 
malaria. The plan is worthy of trial. 

Pneumonia. —It will be remembered that in old age the lungs are much 
shriveled, less elastic, and can not be fully inflated; the air cells are dilated 
to about twice their size, many of the capillaries are obliterated, the breath¬ 
ing is more feeble and shallow, and the power to get rid of carbonic acid is 
greatly diminished. 

Hence pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs) is not only one of the most 
common diseases of old age, but the most fatal—over three-fourths (some 



THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


413 


say nine-tenths) of the aged dying with it. The main work of the lungs is 
done by the air-cells, the tiny laboratories in which the smaller branches of 
the air-tubes terminate, as the branches of a tree terminate in the leaves. 
Now it is these that are the seat of pneumonia. 

In the first stage of the disease they become—in some part of the lungs 
—filled with a sticky fluid, exuded frcm the blood vessels; in the second 
stage this fluid becomes solid; in the third it changes to pus. If the pus is 
absorbed—which is seldom the case in the old—the person may recover, but 
only after months of convalesence. If it result in gangrene (mortification), 
the gangrene may form numerous small abscesses through an entire lung. 

In the aged the disease seldom commences Avith well-defined symptoms. 
In about one-half the cases there is simply a chill or a pain in the side. In 
most of the other cases the main symptom is a feeling of exhaustion. If 
there is already chronic bronchitis or asthma, the person may merely feel a 
little tired, and suddenly die. 

Though most persons cough, there is for a time no expectoration. When 
it appears it is at first scanty, gray and frothy; then yellow, and at length 
reddish and sticky. Patients seldom complain of pain or difficulty of 
breathing. 

The more common exciting cause is cold, especially dry, sharp. Nine- 
tenths of all cases occur between November and May. During this period 
the aged cannot be too carefully protected from exposure. They should 
constantly Avear flannel. 

About all that can be done for the patient is to stimulate him Avith drinks, 
nourish him with concentrated fluid food, and secure him absolute rest. 

Antidotes for Poisons. —(1) The most dangerous of the vegetable 
poisons are the hemlocks (including the hemlock dropwort, water hemlock, 
and the common hemlock), fool’s parsley, monkshood, foxglove, black helle¬ 
bore, or Christmas rose, buck-bran, henbane, thorn apple, and deadly night¬ 
shade. In a case of vegetable poisoning, says Knowledge , “ emetics (the 
sulphate of zinc, if procurable) should be used at once, the back of the 
throat tickled Avith a feather, and copious draughts of tepid Avater taken to 
excite and promote vomiting. Where these measures fail, the stomach-pump 
must be used. Neither ipecacuanha nor tartar emetic should be used to 
cause vomiting, as during the nausea they produce before vomiting is excited 
the poison is more readily absorbed. Vinegar must not be given until the 
poisonous matter has been removed; but afterward it may be given in doses 
of a Avineglassful, one part vinegar to two parts Avater, once every tAvo hours 
in mild cases, but oftener—to half hourly doses—in cases of greater severity. 
Where there is stupor, the patient should be kept walking about, and if tlio 
stupor is great cold Avater may be dashed over the head and chest. Strong 
coffee may be used where the narcotic effect of the poisoning is very marked. 
It is all-important that in cases of vegetable poisoning a medical man should 
be sent for at once.” 

(2) If a person SAvalloAV any poison Avhatover, or has fallen into convul¬ 
sions from having overloaded the stomach, an instantaneous remedy, more 
efficient and applicable in a larger number of cases than any half a dozen 
medicines Ave can think of, is a heaping teaspoonful of common salt and as 
much ground mustard, stirred rapidly in a teacup of water, warm or cold, 
and swallowed instantly. It is scarcely doAvn before it begins to come up, 
bringing with it the remaining contents of the stomach; and lest there bo 
any remnant of poison, however small, let the Avhite of an egg, or a teacup 


414 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


of strong coffee be swallowed as soon as the stomach is quiet. These very 
common articles nullify a larger number of virulent poisons than any 
medicines in the shops. 

(3) Great quantities of Paris green are used during some seasons of the 
year, and as accidents may happen, it is well to know the antidote for the 
poison. Paris green owes its deadly properties to arsenic, as does London 
purple. Should either of these be taken into the stomach, let the person 
drink copious draughts of milk, or raw eggs beaten up, and as soon as pos¬ 
sible give an emetic, mustard is as good as anything, and keep up the action 
of vomiting by giving milk between the paroxysms of vomiting. When the 
stomach no longer rejects what is swallowed, give a good dose of castor oil. 

(4) It cannot be too generally known that the ordinary calcined magnesia, 
mixed with water, is considered a certain antidete to numerous poisons, 
especially those of metallic origin, such as arsenic, corrosive sublimate, sul¬ 
phate of zinc, etc. In cases of this deplorable kind, two or three teaspoon¬ 
fuls of magnesia, mixed with water, should be at once administered, which, 
in all probability, will save the patient until the doctor comes. 

(5) Hundreds of lives have been saved by a knowledge of this simple 
receipt. A large teaspoonful of made mustard mixed in a tumbler of warm 
water, and swallowed as soon as possible; it acts as an instant emetic, suf¬ 
ficiently powerful to remove all that is lodged in the stomach. 

(6) A standing antidote for poison by dew, poison-oak, ivy, etc., is to take 
a handful of quicklime, dissolve in water, let it stand half an hour, then 
paint the poisoned parts with it. Three or four applications will never fail 
to cure the most aggravated cases. 

(7) The only safe and immediate remedy within the reach of a non-pro¬ 
fessional, in case of poisoning with prussic acid, is to pour a stream of cold 
water, from an elevation, upon the head and spine of the patient. 

(8) If a person has taken an over-dose of laudanum, very strong coffee is 
a specific antidote. Keep the patient on his feet and keep him walking. 
Sleep is fatal under such circumstances. 

Dangers of Cliiltllxoocl. —Childhood is the period during which the 
foundations of the physical structure are laid. It ends, at the age of about 
fourteen, with the completion of the permanent teeth. It is characterized 
by almost absolute dependence on the parents, and therefore the responsi¬ 
bility rests upon them whether the foundations of the superstructure shall 
be good or bad, and, indeed, whether there shall be any superstructure! 
The fact that one-half of all who are born die within this period, while mul¬ 
titudes of adults find, Avhen it is too late, fatal defects in the very ground¬ 
work of their constitutions, is a fearful witness against the competency of 
most parents for the care of children. What farmer would employ a hand 
that let one-half of all his calves, colts and lambs die ? In the matter of food, 
if milk fails the mother, how few mothers know what to give the child! How 
few know that many of the compounds sold as “Infants’ food” contain 
no food whatever! and that cow’s milk, harmful when taken alone, is gen¬ 
erally safe with a certain proportion of lime water! How few mothers know 
that too protracted nursing will result in “rickets?” That overfeeding all 
through childhood is a prolific source of disease ? and that, in case of most 
bowel complaints, a spare diet for a few days is better than all medicines ? 
In our climate, where the mercury ranges through 140 degrees and often 
varies between the extremes suddenly and violently, how little do mothers 
realize the importance of aiding nature, with clothing and food, so that the 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


415 


internal temperature is held steadily at 98 degrees ? Do you know that a 
change of half a dozen degrees of the internal temperature, either way, is 
almost sure death? The great mortality of children in summer is due 
mainly to heat. An abundance of woolen clothing alone can guard against 
the effects of the violent changes in the climate of the autumn and winter 
and spring. How few are aware that the infectious diseases which so ravage 
childhood are caused by careless exposure to the contagion, or, if aware, act 
accordingly ? 

Nervousness.—This unhealthy state of system depends upon general 
debility. It is often inherited from birth, and as often brought on by excess 
of sedentary occupation, overstrained employment of the brain, mental 
emotion, dissipation and excess. The nerves consist of a structure of fibers 
or cords passing through the entire body, branching off from, and having a 
connection with each other, and finally centers on the brain. They are the 
organs of feeling and sensation of every kind, and through them the mind 
operates upon the body. It is obvious, therefore, that what is termed 
the “ nervous system” has an important partin the bodily functions; and 
upon them not only much of the health, but happiness, depends. 

Treatment .—The cure of nervous complaints lies rather in moral than in 
medical treatment. For although much good may be effected by tonics, 
such as bark, quinine, etc., there is far more benefit to be derived from atten¬ 
tion to diet and regimen. In such cases, solid food should preponderate 
over liquid, and the indulgence in warm and relaxing fluids should be espe¬ 
cially avoided; plain and nourishing meat, as beef or mutton, a steak or 
chop, together with half a pint of bitter ale or stout, forming the best dinner. 
Cocoa is preferable to tea; vegetables should be but sparingly eaten. Seden¬ 
tary pursuits should be cast aside as much as possible, but where they are 
compulsory, every spare moment should be devoted to outdoor employment 
and brisk exercise. Early bedtime and early rising will prove beneficial, 
and the use of the cold shower bath is excellent. Gymnastic exercises, 
fencing, horse-riding, rowing, dancing, and other pursuits which call forth 
the energies, serve also to brace and invigorate the nervous system. It will 
also be as well to mingle with society, frequent public assemblies and 
amusements, and thus dispel that morbid desire for seclusion and quietude 
which, if indulged in to excess, renders a person unfitted for intercourse 
with mankind, and materially interferes with advancement in life. 

Measles. —Measles are an acute inflammation of the skin, internal and 
external, combined with an infectious fever. 

Symptoms' —Chills, succeeded by great heat, languor, and drowsiness, 
pains in the head, back and limbs, quick pulse, soreness of throat, thirst, 
nausea and vomiting, a dry cough, and high colored urine. These sj mp- 
toms increase in violence for four days. The eyes are inflamed and weak, 
and the nose pours forth a watery secretion, with frequent sneezing. There 
is considerable inflammation in the larynx, windpipe, and bronchial tubes, 
with soreness of the breast and hoarseness. About the fourth day the skin 
is covered with a breaking out which produces heat and itching, and is red 
in spots, upon the face first, gradually spreading over the whole body. It 
goes off in the same v r ay, from the face first and then from the body, and tin 
hoarseness and other symptoms decline with it; at last the outsido skin 
peels off in scales. 

Treatment .—In a mild form, nothing is required but a light diet, slightly 



416 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


acid drinks, and flax seed or slippery elm tea. Warm herb teas, and fre¬ 
quent sponge baths with tepid water, serve to allay the fever; care should 
bo taken not to let the patient take cold. If the fever is very high, and pre¬ 
vents the rash coming out, a slight dose of salts; or a nauseating dose of 
ipecac, lobelia, or hive syrup should be given, and followed by teaspoonful 
doses of compound tincture of Virginia snake-root until the fever is allayed. 
If the patient from any derangement takes on a low typhoid type of fever, 
and the rash does not come out until the seventh day, and is then of a dark 
and livid color, tonics and stimulants must be given, and the expectoration 
promoted by some suitable remedy. The room should be kept dark to pro¬ 
tect the inflamed eyes. As long as the fever remains the patient should be 
kept in bed. Exposure may cause pneumonia, which, In other words, is 
acute inflammation of the lungs. Keep in the room as long as the cough 
lasts. There is always danger of the lungs being left in an inflamed state 
after the measles, unless the greatest care is taken not to suffer the patient 
to take cold. 

Should there be much pain, and a severe cough, this must be treated as 
a separate disease, with other remedies. 

Rheumatism.—(1) Dr. Ebrards, of Nimes, states that he has for many 
years treated all his cases of sciatica and neuralgic pains with an improvised 
apparatus consisting merely of a flat-iron, and vinegar, two things that will 
be found in every house. The iron is heated until sufficiently hot to vaporize 
the vinegar, and is then covered with some woolen fabric, which is moist¬ 
ened with vinegar, and the apparatus is applied at once to the painful spot. 
The application may be repeated two or three times a day. Dr. Ebrard 
states that, as a rule, the pain disappears in twenty-four hours, and recovery 
ensues at once. 

(2) Take cucumbers, when full grown, and put them into a pot with a lit¬ 
tle salt; then put the pot over a slow fire, where it should remain for about 
an hour; then take the cucumbers and press them, the juice from which 
must be put into bottles, corked up tight, and placed in the cellar, where 
they should remain for about a week; then wet a flannel rag with the liquid, 
and apply it to the parts affected. 

(3) Half ounce of strongest camphorated spirit, on* ounce spirits of turpen¬ 
tine, one raw egg, half pint best vinegar. Well mix the whole, and keep it 
closely corked. To be rubbed in three ®r four times a day. For rheuma¬ 
tism in the head, or face-ache, rub all over the back of the head and neck, 
as well as the part which is the immediate seat of pain. 

(4) Dr. Bonnett, of Graulbet, France, recommends and prescribes for 
chronic rheumatism the use of the essential oil of turpentine bv friction. He 
used it himself with perfect success, having almost instantaneously got rid 
of rheumatic pains in both knees and in the left shoulder. 

(5) A very simple remedy for rheumatism of the extremities, and one 
that very often gives great relief is, to take a large piece of thick flannel, 
sprinkle it well with finely pulverized sulphur, and then bind snugly about 
the limb, with the sulphur next the skin. 

(6) For sciatic rheumatism the following is recommended: Two drachms 
iodide potassium, four ounces cinnamon water. Mix. Take a teasooonful 
three times a day before eating. It is also excellent for dyspepsia. 

(7) Tincture of gum Guaicum, ten to fifteen drops, three times a day. I 
havo never known it to fail in making a cure, oxcept in cases of long stand¬ 
ing, when it- will afford great relief. 

I w * 



THE HOME PHYSICIAN . 


417 


Toothache.—(1) Bi-carbonate of soda as a remedy for toothache, has 
been used very successfully. It was first introduced to the public by Dr. 
Duckworth, of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, who resorted to it when 
chloroform, carbolic acid, and everything else had failed. His recipe is to 
soak small pieces of cotton in a solution of thirty grains of bi-carbonate of 
soda to one fluid ounce of water, and insert the cotton in the tooth. Dr. 
Duckworth is of the opinion that very frequently the pain is due to the con¬ 
tact of acid saliva with the decayed tooth; and therefore, it is important, in 
cases of toothache, first to determine whether the saliva had an acid reaction. 
If this be the case, then a simple alkaline application, as above stated, is 
the most efficacious means of cure. 

(2) The worst toothache, or neuralgia coming from the teeth, may be 
speedily ended by the application of a small bit of clean cotton saturated in 
a strong solution of ammonia to the defective tooth. Sometimes the applica¬ 
tion causes nervous laughter, but the paiu has disappeared. 

(3) If the tooth contains a cavity Avhich can be easily reached, fill it with 
sugar of lead. Allow it to remain a few minutes, then wash it out with warm 
water, being careful to remove all of it. This is the most prompt relief for 
toothache—save the forceps— with which we are familiar. 

(4) Put a piece of quicklime, as big as a walnut, in a pint of water in a 
bottle. Clean the teeth with a little of it every morning, rinsing the mouth 
Avith clean Avater afterward. If the teeth are good, it will preserve them, 
and keep aAvay the toothache; if the teeth are gone, it Avill harden the gums, 
so that they will masticate crusts and all. 

(5) Take alum, reduce to an impalpable powder, 2 drachms; nitrous spir¬ 
its of ether, 7 drachms. Mix and apply them to the tooth. This is said to 
be an infallible cure for all kinds of toothache (unless the disease is con¬ 
nected Avith rheumatism). 

(6) Steep a piece of coarse broAvn paper in cold vinegar, then grate ginger 
on it, and apply to the side of the face affected; the application to be made 
at bedtime, and kept on during the whole of the night. 

(7) One ounce alcohol, tAvo drachms cayenne pepper, one ounce kerosene 
oil; mix, and let stand twenty-four hours—a sure cure. 

Wounds.—(1) A Avound produced by a sharp cutting instrument will 
heal Avithout trouble when the edges are nicely brought together, and left 
so, AAdthout putting on any salve, provided the access of air is shut off and 
the person possesses a good constitution. If the Avound is produced by a 
rusty nail, or a similar cause, so as to bo jagged, it Avill soon become very 
inflamed, and in such a case it is recommended to smoke such a Avound Avith 
burning avooI or Avoolen cloth. TAventy minutes in the smoke of avooI will 
take the pain out of tho Avorst wound, and if repeated once or tAvice Avill allay 
the Avorst case of inflammation arising from a Avound. 

(2) The best simple remedy for sm’face Avounds, such as cuts, abrasion of 
the skin, etc., is charcoal. Take a large coal from the fire, pulverize it, ap¬ 
ply it to the Avound, and cover the Avliole Avith a rag. Tho charcoal absorbs 
the fluid secreted by the wound, and lays tho foundation of the scab; it also 
prevents the rag from irritating the flesh, and is an antiseptic. 

(3) Without waiting for it to stop bleeding, press the edges of the lacerated 
flesh together, and apply immediately a plaster made of soot and cream, 
binding it firmly on, not to bo removed till healed, Avithout cleanliness re¬ 
quires it. Then put another of the same on, Avithout delay, not alloAving 
exposure to tho air any more than possible to prevent. 


418 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


(4) It is not generally known that the leaves of geranium are an excellent 
application for cuts, where the skin is rubbed off, and other wounds of that 
kind. One or two leaves must be bruised and applied to the part, and the 
wound will be cicatrized in a short time. 

(5) There is nothing better for a cut than powdered resin. Get a few 
cents’ worth, pound it until it is cpiite tine, put it in a cast-off spice box, with 
perforated top, then you can easily sift it on the cut. Put a soft cloth around 
the injured member, and wet it with water once in a while; it will prevent 
inflammation Or soreness. 

(6) When a nail orpin has been run into the foot, instantly bind on a rind 
of salt pork, and keep quiet till the wound is well. The lockjaw is often 
caused by such wounds, if neglected. 

(7) It is a wise plan to keep a cup of alum water always convenient, so 
that sudden cuts or bruises can be bound up in a cloth wet in it. If treated 
thus they will heal quickly. 

Sprains and Braises.—(1) The best treatment of sprains and bruises is 
the application of water, of such temperature as is most agreeable. The de¬ 
gree of temperature varies with the temperature of the weather and the 
vigor of the circulation. In a hot day use cool or cold water. If the circu¬ 
lation is low use warm water. The bruised or sprained parts may be im¬ 
mersed in a pail of water, and gently pressed or manipulated with the hand 
or soft cloth for ten or fifteen minutes, or even longer in severe cases, after 
which wrap up the parts in cloths wet in cold water, and keep quiet. This 
treatment keeps down the inflammation, and in nine cases out of ten proves 
a speedy cure. The liniments and filthy ointments so much used for sprains 
do not compare with this simple treatment in efficacy. 

(2) Take one part blue clay and two parts vinegar, and make into a paste, 
and bind on at night with a wet towel. One application is generally suffi¬ 
cient. 

(3) Make pounded resin into a paste with fresh butter, lay it on the 
sprained part and bind it up. 

* Weak and Inflamed Eyes.—(1) Borax, half drachm; camphor water, 
three ounces. The above simple prescription is in common use bv the high¬ 
est medical authorities. It makes a wash unexcelled for the treatment of 
inflammation of the eyes. In using it lean the head back and drop three 
drops in the corner of each, and then open the eyes and let it work in. Use 
it as often as the eyes feel badly. 

(2) When the eyes become inflamed from any cause, do not rub them at 
all—such irritation is dangerous—but bathe them in tepid milk and water, 
keep tLe bowels open by some gentle medicine and eat little meat The 
eyes are very sensitive to the state of the stomach. Avoid the glare of 
strong light. 

(3) Bathe your eyes night and morning in a tolerably strong solution of 
salt and water. We have known some remarkable cures effected by this 
simple remedy. After bathing the eyes daily for about a week, intermit a 
day or two, and then resume the daily bathing, and so on till your eyes get 
strong again. 

(4) Take rose leaves, the more the better, and put them into a little water; 
then boil; after this strain it into a bottle and cork it tight. You will find 
this liquid very beneficial in removing' redness and weakness from the 
eyes. 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


419 


(5) Cut a slice of stale bread as tliin as possible; toast both sides well, 
but don’t burn; when cold, lay in cold spring or ice water; put between a 
piece of old linen and apply, changing when it gets warm. 

(0) Take half an ounce of Golden Seal (you will find it at the drug stores), 
pour one-half pint boiling w 7 ater upon it and let it cool. Bathe the eyes with 
a linen rag dipped in this, each night on going to bed, and you will soon 
effect a cure. 

(7) Three or five grains of alum dissolved in half a pint of water, and ap¬ 
plied to the eyes whenever they are weak or inflamed. 

(8) Scrape a raw potato; use as a poultice; or slippery elm. Bathe with 
warm water or rose water. 

Dust in tlie Eye—(1) If a cinder or bit of dust gets into the eye do not 
rub the eyeball; that only irritates it. If the intruder is beneath the upper 
eyelid, lift the upper lid with the thumb and finger of the right hand, and 
with the forefinger of the left hand raise upward the under eyelid while you 
pull down over it the upper lid. This will seldom fail to remove the cinder, 
the soft skin and eyelashes taking it off without injuring the eyeball. 

(2) A small camel’s-hair brush, dipped in water and passed over the ball 
of the eye on raising the lid. The operation requires no skill, takes but a 
moment, and instantly removes any cinder or particle of dust or dirt, with¬ 
out inflaming the eye. 

(3) To remove specks of dirt from the eye, immerse it in cold water, then 
roll and wink it rapidly, still keeping it in the water, till the desired result 
is accomplished. In cases of slight inflammation or dryness of the eye, this 
bath has a good effect. Use tepid, slightly salted water, instead of the 
cold. 

(4) A celebrated oculist in Utrecht recommends, in all cases where dirt, 
lime, or specks get into the eyes, that the sufferer have pure olive oil poured 
in until everything of a hurtful nature is removed. The remedy is quite 
painless, and never fails to remove all foreign substances. 

Sore Throat..—(i) An exchange thinks that salt and water, a large table- 
spoonful of salt to half a tumbler of water, used as a gargle for sore throat 
just before meal time, is an excellent remedy for such complaint. A little 
red pepper should be added if the salt water does not prove successful. 
Red pepper, honey or sugar, and sharp vinegar, simmered together, and 
then tempered with water so as not to be too strong, is a good remedy easily 
obtained. 

(2) Sometimes a sore throat can be cured by the following simple recipe: 
Soak in water a small piece of bread and mix with it a pinch-of cayenne 
pepper; roll it up in the form of a pill and swallow it. Usually in three 
hours the patient will be relieved of all pain. In aggravated cases a second 
dose may be requisite. 

(3) If you have a sore throat, slight or serious, a piece of camphor-gum 
as large as a pea, kept in the mouth until dissolved, will give relief and 
ofttimes cure. It is said on good authority, if the gum is used in season, 
you will never have diphtheria—it is a good preventive. 

(4) A gargle of salt and vinegar, with a little cayenne pepper, will do 
more to disperse soreness of the throat than any other remedy of which we 
have heard. It stimulates the glands, promotes free secretion, and will 
sometimes cure in a few hours. 

(5) One ounce of best Peruvian bark, two wiueglassfuls of honey, burnt 



420 


THE HOUSE HO LI). 


alum the size of two walnuts, borax the size of a shellbark. Mix these in¬ 
gredients in a quart of water, and then stew them until reduced to a pint. 
Shake the mixture previous to using it. 

(6) An excellent remedy for sore throat is brewers’ yeast and honey- 
four tablespoonfuls of the first and one teaspoonful of the latter. Mix in a 
cup, and gargle the throat two or three times an hour. 

(7) Chlorate of potash dissolved in water is a standard remedy for sore 
throat, particularly when the throat feels raw. 

(8) Use a gargle of a goblet half full of water, with a teaspoonlul of com¬ 
mon bailing soda dissolved in it. 

Dieting for Health—This lias sent many a one to the grave, and will 
send many more, because it is done injudiciously or ignorantly. One man 
omits his dinner by a herculean effort, and thinking he has accomplished 
wonders, expects wonderful results; but by the time supper is ready, he feels 
a>s hungry as a dog, and eats like one—fast, furious and long. Next day he 
is worse, and “ don’t believe in dieting” for the remainder of lile. 

Others set out to starve themselves into health, until the system is 
reduced so low that it has no power of resuscitation, and the man dies. 

To diet Avisely, does not imply a total abstinence from all food, but the 
taking of just enough, or of a quality adapted to the nature ot the case. 
Loose bowels weaken very rapidly—total abstinence from all food increases 
the debility. In this case, food should be taken which, while it tends to 
ai*rest the disease, imparts nutriment and strength to the system. In this 
case, rest on a bed, and eating boiled rice, after it has been parched like 
coffee, will cure three cases out of four of common diarrhoea in a day or two. 

Others think that, in order to diet effectually, it is all important to do 
without meat, but allow themselves the widest liberty in all else. But in 
many cases, dyspeptic conditions of the system particularly, the course 
ought to be reversed, because meat is converted into nutriment, with the 
expenditure of less stomach power than vegetables, while a given amount ot 
work does three times as much good, gives three times as much nutriment 
and strength as vegetable food would. 

Scald Head. —This appearance is the result of a bad state of the system 
—bad blood—the humors affecting the head often in consequence of neglect 
of cleanliness, or too rough combing or brushing of the head. There are 
cases in which wet cloths applied to the head, wet in arnica and water (four 
parts of water to one of arnica), may soon remove the difficulty if there is 
not too much of impurity in the system seeking an escape in this way. 

Such a child should be much in the open air, be regular in taking food, 
eat the simplest kinds—the less the better of grease, salt, and the sweets 
generally. The parts may be bathed in arnica, glycerine or sweet oil, to 
protect them from the irritation of the air, etc. 

In specially stubborn cases, it is well to produce an irritation in another 
part of the body, by the mustard or blister plaster, diverting it from the head, 
since the head is more likely to be attacked than most parts of the body. Its 
appearance is not a misfortune, but the location is not the best. 

By no means use any sugar of lead or anything like it—an active poison— 
aud do not attempt to “ dry it up,” or suddenly cure it, since there is always 
danger of driving it to some internal organ, some unsafe place; it is safer to 
do nothing, allowing nature to care for it, than to do wrong. It is not best to 
“ dabblo ” with unknown remedies—poisons—or to listen to all told you by 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


421 


rour neighbors, who may know nothing of the matter, though they may have 
had many children, which fact never gives intelligence. 

Medical Q,ualities of Lemons —A good deal has been said about the 
healthfulness of lemons. The latest advice is how to use them so that they 
will do the most good, as follows: Most people know the benefit of lemonade 
before breakfast, but few know that it is more than doubled by taking 
another at night also. The way to get the better of the bilious system with¬ 
out blue pills or quinine is to take the juice of one, two or three lemons, as 
appetite craves, in as much ice water as makes it pleasant to drink without 
sugar before going to bed. In the morning, on rising, at least half an hour 
before breakfast, take the juice of one lemon in a goblet of water. This will 
clear,the system ot humor and bile with efficiency, without any of the weak¬ 
ening effects of calomel or congress water. People should not irritate the 
stomach by eating lemons clear; the powerful acid of the juice, which is 
always most corrosive, invariably produces inflammation after a while, but 
properly diluted, so that it does not burn or draw the throat, it does its 
medical work without harm, and, when the stomach is clear of food, has 
abundant opportunity to work over the system thoroughly, says a medical 
authority. 

^ Looping Cough. —(l) Dr. Grath, of Vienna, proposes a singular treat¬ 
ment for this distressing ailment, which will doubtless receive careful con¬ 
sideration from the medical profession. He states that by placing twenty 
drops of the oil of turpentine on a handkerchief, holding it before the face, 
and taking about forty deep inspirations, to bo repeated thrice daily, marked 
relief, succeeded in cases of laryngeal catarrh by speedy cure, is the result. 
Being called in to attend an infant of fifteen months in the convulsive stage, 
he instructed the child’s mother to hold a cloth moistened, as already de¬ 
scribed, before it when awake, and to drop the oil upon its pillow when 
asleep. In this instance the remedy in its effect was most 1 eneticial. The 
frequency and severity of the attacks sensibly decreased in the course of 
twenty-four hours, and by proper support by the help of stimulants, im¬ 
provement was rapid. 

(2) Dissolve a scruple of salt of tartar in a gill of water; add to it ten 
grains of cochineal; sweeten it Avitli sugar. Give to an infant the lourth 
part of a tablespoouful four times a day; tAvo years old, half a tablespoonful: 
from four years, a tablespoonful. This lias been a very successful 
mixture. 

(3) The folloAving is regarded as an excellent remedy: Pure carbonate of 
potassa, one scruple; cochineal, one grain. Dissolve in six ounces of water 
sweetened Avitli sugar. Dose for a child four or five years old, one teaspoon¬ 
ful three times a day, to be taken before meals. 

(4) The inhalation of air charged Avitli ammonia vapors, as a remedy for 
Avliooping cough, has been tried in France Avith success. One of the methods 
of application employed is boiling strong ammonia in the room av here the 
patient is. 

(5) Pound best black resin very fine, and give as much as will lie on a 
cent in a little moist sugar three times a day, commencing before breakfast 
in the morning. I have known it to cure the most obstinate cases of Avhoop- 
ing cough in three Avceks. 

(6) An excellent cure for whooping cough, and one that I have seen tried 
in several instances with entire success, is simply this: Steep a handful of 


422 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


chestnut leaves in a pint of boiling water; sweeten, cool, and give as a com¬ 
mon drink live or six times a day. 

Neuralgia. - (1) A very simple relief for neuralgia is to boil a small 
handful of lobelia in half a pint of water till the strength is out of the herb, 
then straiu it off and add a teaspoonful of fine salt. Wring cloths out of the 
liquid as hot as possible, and spread over the part affected. It acts like a 
charm. Change the cloths as soon as cold till the pain is all gone; then 
cover the place with a soft dry covering till perspiration is over, to prevent 
taking cold. Pdieumatism can often be relieved by application to the painful 
parts, of cloths wet in a weak solution of sal soda water. If there is inflam¬ 
mation in the joints the ciire is very quick. The wash should be lukewarm. 

(2) Procure a half-ounce of the oil of peppermint, and, with a cjynels’ 
hair brush, paint the parts of the face where tlie-pain is felt. We have 
found it an excellent application in all forms of pain in the face. A drop 
applied to the cavity of an aching tooth, and confined there with a pellet of 
cotton, will arrest the pain. 

(3) A noted cure for neuralgia is hot vinegar vaporized. Heat a flatiron 
sufficiently hot to vaporize the vinegar, cover this with some woolen material, 
which is moistened with vinegar, and the apparatus is then applied at once 
to the painful spot. The application may be repeated until the pain dis¬ 
appears. 

(4) Have a flannel cap made to fasten under + he chin; wear three nights; 
let three nights pass, then put on again if necessary. For neuralgia in eye¬ 
brows, bind a strip of flannel around the head; rub the teeth with equal 
parts of salt and alum, pulverized, on a soft, wet bit of linen. 

(5) Squeeze the juice of a good-sized lemon into a tumbler of water, and 
every half hour take two or three mouthfuls ol this liquid. If relief is not 
experienced within twenty-four hours, continue the remedy. In slight cases 
the above has often proved an effectual cure. 

(6) Many cases of neuralgia have been cured by the common field thistle. 
The leaves are macerated and used on the parts affected as a poultice, while 
a small quantity of the leaves are made a tea of, and a small wine of the 
decoction is taken as a drink before each meal. 

(7) A simple remedy for neuralgia is horseradish. Grate and mix it in 
vinegar, the same as for table purposes, and apply to the temple when the 
face or the head is affected, or the wrist when the pain is in the arm or 
shoulder. 

(8) Half a drachm of sal-ammoniac in one ounce of camphor water, to be 
taken a teaspoonful at a dose, and the dose repeated several times, at 
intervals of five minutes, if the pain be not relieved at once. 

(9) Persons troubled with neuralgia will find this a cure, if they try it. 
Two drops of laudanum in half teaspoonful of warm water and dropped into 
the ears; it will give immediate relief. 

(10) It is said that the fumes of sugar snuffed up the nose will cure 
ordinary cases of neuralgia. Put a small quantity of sugar on a hot shovel 
and try it as directed. 

Earache.—(1) As soon as any soreness is felt in the ear—which feeling 
always precedes the regular ache—let three or four drops of tincture .of 
arnica be poured in, and then the orifice filled with a little cotton to exclude 
the air, and in a short time the uneasiness is forgotten. If the arnica is not 
resorted to until there is actual pain, the cure may not be so speedy, but it 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 423 

ia just as certain. It one application of the arnica does not effect a cure, it 
will be necessary to repeat it, it may be, several times. 

(2) Persons will find relief for earache by putting in a spoon two or three 
diops of sweet oil, or, better still, almond oil, the same of molasses and 
laudanum, warming it altogether. Absorb some of the mixture in cotton 
a\ ool, put it in the ear, with a piece of wool outside to keep out the cold air, 
repeating, the thing if necessary. A roast onion heart dipped in this and 
surrounded with the cotton is also often very efficacious. 

(.3) I he most effectual remedy has been a small clove of garlic, steeped 
for a tew minutes in warm salad oil, and put into the ear rolled up in muslin 
or thin linen. In some time the garlic is reduced to a pulp, and having ac¬ 
complished its object should be replaced with cotton to prevent the patient 
getting cold. 

(4) To cure earache take a bit of cotton batting, put upon it a pinch ot 
black pepper, gather it up and tie it, dip in sweet oil and insert into the ear. 
Put a flannel bandage over the head and keep it warm. It will give imme¬ 
diate relief. 

(5) Dissolve assafoetida in water; warm a few drops and drop in the ear, 
then cork the ear with cotton. 

Worms —Some members of the profession still cling with bull-dog ten¬ 
acity to the opinion that worms do not affect the health of children, and that 
they are natural to them. The latter may or may not be true, but when 
they accumulate in the intestines, they produce the same disturbance that 
any foreign, indigestible substance would do. We find the picking of the 
nose, swollen lower eye-lids, restlessness in sleep, groaning, gritting teeth, 
starting, and lastly, spasms. 

Worms kill more children than teething; and when you find the above 
symptoms with a strawberry tongue and a fever, which will attack several 
times daily, going oft’ as frequently in cold sweats, you can swear that you 
have a case of worms, and had as well prepare and attack them. 

Now as to the best means of getting rid of them. I use the fluid extract 
of senna and spigelia in teaspoonful doses fur patients of eight or ten years 
of age, and less in proportion, night and morning, for three nights and days 
following this up each morning with a good dose of castor oil, provided the 
senna and spigelia does not act. Then wait three days, and again institute 
the same proceedings, and for the same length of time. 

This treatment is for the lumbric oid. For the oxyuris, or “ thread 
worm,” I use any bitter infusion by enema, sulph. quinine, followed by an 
enema of common salt and milk—warm water half an hour afterward, which 
will destroy and expel them. 

The symptoms of the presence of the worm are the same as the former, 
with the exception that in the latter you will find £he sufferer scratching the 
anus. If every practitioner will use these he will be gratified by the restora¬ 
tion to immediate health of many a little sufferer, who would otherwise 
linger in sickness for many months and perhaps eventually die. 

Warts. —(1) A much safer remody for warts than nitrate of silver is sal- 
ammoniac. Get a piece about the size of a Avalnut; moisten the warts, and 
rub the sal-ammoniac well on them every night and morning, and in about 
a fortnight they will probably disappear. If not, do not despair, but con¬ 
tinue the process till they are gone. 

(2) The best treatment of warts is to pare the dry and hard skin from 


424 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


tlieir tops, and then touch them with the smallest drop of strong acetic acid, 
taking care that the acid does not run off the wart upon the neighboring 
skin; for if it does, it will occasion inflammation and much pain. If this is 
continued once or twice daily, with regularity, paring the surface of the wart 
oecasionally,whenitgets hard and dry, the wart will be soon effectually cured. 

(3) Take half an ounce of sulphur; half an ounce of alcohol, 95 per cent.; 
put into an ounce phial, shake them well together, and apply freely once or 
twice a day for two or three weeks. By the end of this time, or a month at 
the most, the warts will be gone. 

(4) Dissolve as much common washing-soda as the water will take up; 
wash the warts with this for a minute or two, and let them dry without wip¬ 
ing. Keep the water in a bottle, and repeat the washing often, and it will 
take away the largest warts. 

(5) Oil of cinnamon dropped on warts three or four times a day will 
cause their disappearance, however hard, large, or dense they may be. The 
application gives no pain nor causes suppuration. 

(6) The bark of the willow tree, burnt to ashes, applied to the parts, will 
remove all warts or excrescences on any part of the body. 

Burns and. Scalds.—(1) Mix common kitchen whitening with sweet oil, 
or, if sweet oil is not at hand, with water. Plaster the whole of the burn 
and some inches beyond it, all round, w r ith the above, after mixing it to the 
consistency of common paste, and lay it on an eighth, or rather more, of an 
inch in thickness. It acts like a charm; the most agonizing pain is in a few 
minutes stilled. Take care to keep the mixture moist by the application, 
from time to time, of fresh oil or fresh water, and at night wrap the whole 
part affected in gutta-percha or flannel, to keep the moisture from evapor- 
rating. The patient will, in all probability, unless the flesh be much injured 
and the burn a very bad one, sleep soundly. 

(2) For burns and scalds nothing is more soothing than the white of an 
egg, which may be poured over the wound. It is softer as a varnish for a 
burn than collodion, and being always at hand can be applied immediately. 
It is also more cooling than the sweet oil and cotton which was formerly 
supposed to be the surest application to allay the smarting pam. It is the 
contact with the air which gives the extreme discomfort experienced from 
the ordinary accident of this kind, and anything which excludes the air and 
prevents inflammation is the thing to be applied. 

(3) The following is one of the best applications we know of in cases of 
burns or scalds, more especially where a large surface is denuded of the 
skin: Take one drachm of finely-powdered alum, and mix thoroughly with 
the whites of two eggs and one teacup of fresh lard; spread on a cloth, and 
apply to the parts burned. It gives almost instant relief from pain, and, by 
excluding the air, prevents inflammatory action The application should be 
changed at least once a day. 

(4) Common baking soda—the bicarbonate—has been found to cure burns 
or scalds, affording immediate relief when it is promptly applied. For a 
dry burn, the soda should be made into paste with water. For a scald oi 
wet burned surface, the powdei’ed soda (or borax will do as well) should be 
dusted on. 

(5) It is said that charcoal is a sure cure for burns. By laying a small 
piece of cold charcoal on the burn, the pain subsides immediately. By leav¬ 
ing the charcoal on for an hour the wound is healed, as has been demon¬ 
strated on several occasions. 


T HE HO M E P H Y, S' J <J IA X . 


425 

(6) For burns sweet oil and cotton are the standard remedies. If they 
are not at hand sprinkle the burned part with flour and wrap loosely with a 
soft, cloth. Don’t remove the dressing until the inflammation subsides, as it 
will break the new skin that is forming. 

(7) One ounce of pulverized borax, one quart of boiling water, half ounce 
of pulverized alum. Shake up well and bottle. Wrap the burn up in soft 
linen, and keep constantly wet with the solution. Do not remove the linen 
until the burn is cured. 

(8) Soak a piece of linen rag in linseed oil, suspend it from the tongs 
over a saucer, and ignite the lower end; the oil which drops from it, while 
consuming, should be applied, when cold, with a feather, to the burn or 
scald. 

(9) Smear the scorched surface with glycerine, by means of a feather, 
then apply cotton wadding; lastly, cover with oil-silk. This treatment has 
been very successful in cases of recent occurrence. 

(10) The true physiological way of treating burns and scalds is at once to 
exclude the air, with cotton batting, flour, scraped potato or anything that is 
handiest. 

Headache.—(1) All ships sailing in hot climates carry a supply of limes, 
whose acid juice is a remedy for biliousness. Dr. Haire says he has cured 
many victims of sick headache with the following simple prescription: When 
the first symptoms of a headache appear, take a teaspoonful of lemon juice, 
clear, fifteen minutes before each meal, and the same dose at bedtime. Fol¬ 
low this up until all symptoms are past, taking no other medicines, and you 
will soon be freed from your periodical nuisance. Sick headache is the sig¬ 
nal of distress which the stomach puts up to inform us that there is an over 
alkaline condition of its fluids—that it needs a natural acid to restore the 
battery to its normal working condition. Lemonade without sugar, plain 
lemon juice and water, is a grateful and medicinal beverage for a person of 
bilious habit, allaying feverishness and promoting sleep and appetite. Some 
who cannot afford to be sick may be willing to make a conscientious trial of 
the above remedy, which is neither patented nor costly. To make it a sov¬ 
ereign remedy it will in most cases need the help of a reform in diet, or a 
let-up from work and care—one or both. In other words, the same causes 
will be apt to reproduce the effect—as the pinching boot will recreate corns 
where they have been removed. 

(2) A new remedy for headache has been found by Dr. Haley, an Aus¬ 
tralian physician, who says that for some years past he has found minimum 
doses of iodide of potassium of great service in frontal headache; that is, 
a heavy, dull headache, situated over the brow, and accompanied by lan¬ 
guor, chilliness and a feeling of general discomfort, with distaste for food, 
which sometimes approaches to nausea, can be completely removed by a 
two grain dose dissolved in half a wineglassful of w r ater, and this quietly 
sipped, the whole quantity being taken in about ten minutes. In many 
cases, he adds, the effect of these small doses has been simply w r onderful, 
as, for instance, a person, who a quarter of an hour ago was feeling most 
miserable, and refused all food, wishing only for quietness, would now tt>ke 
a good meal and resume his wanted cheerfulness. If this cure of Dr. 
Haley’s is in reality a practical one, he will merit, for the discovery, the 
gratitude of suffering millions. 

(3) Dr. Lauder Brunton says: “ The administration of a brisk purgative, 
or small doses of Epsom salts, thrice a day, is a most effectual remedy for 





426 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


frontal headache when combined with constipation; but if the bowels be 
regular, the morbid processes on which it depends seem to be checked, 
and the headache removed even more effectually by nitro-hydrochloric acid, 
or by alkalies, given before meals. If the headache is immediately above 
the eyebrows, the acid is best; but if it be a little higher up, just where the 
hair begins, the alkalies appear to me to be the more effectual. At the same 
time that the headache is removed, the feelings of sleepiness and weariness, 
which frequently lead the patients to complain that they rise up more tired 
than they lie down, generally disappear.” 

(4) Dr. Hall states that sick headache is the result of eating too much 
and exercising too little. Nine times in ten the cause is in the fact that the 
stomach was not able to digest the food last introduced into it, either from 
its having been unsuitable, or excessive in quantity. A diet of bread and 
butter with ripe fruits or berries, with moderate, continuous exercise in the 
open air, sufficient to keep up a gentle perspiration, would cure almost every 
case in a short time. Two teaspoonfuls of powdered charcoal in a half glass 
of water, and drank, generally gives instant relief. 

(5) Put a handful of salt into a quart of water, add one ounce of spirits of 
hartshorn, and half an ounce of camphorated spirits of wine. Put them 
quickly into a bottle, and cork tightly to prevent the escape of the spirits. 
Soak a piece of rag with the mixture, and apply it to the head; wet the rag 
afresh as soon as it gets heated. 

(6) A mixture of ice and salt, in proportion of one to one-half, applied to 
the head, frequently gives instant relief from acute headache. It should be 
tied up in a small linen cloth, like a pad, and held as near as possible to the 
seat of the pain. 

(7) For sick headache, induced by bilious derangement, steep five cents’ 
worth of senna and camomile flowers in a little water, to make strong 
decoction, and take. It has been tried successfully in various cases. 

(8) Coarse brown paper soaked in vinegar and placed on the forehead is 
good for a sick headache. If the eyelids are gently bathed in cool water the 
pain in the head is generally allayed. 

(9) Nervous headache is said to be instantly relieved by shampooing the 
head with a quart of cold water in which a dessertspoonful of soda has been 
dissolved. 

Offensive Breath.—(1) From six to ten drops of the concentrated solu¬ 
tion of chloride of soda, in a wineglassful of pure spring water, taken imme¬ 
diately after the ablutions of the morning are completed, will sweeten the 
breath, by disinfecting the stomach, which far from being injured will be 
benefited by the medicine. If necessary, this may be repeated in the mid¬ 
dle of the day. In some cases the odor arising from carious teeth is com¬ 
bined with that of the stomach. If the mouth is well rinsed Avith a teaspoou- 
ful of the solution of the chloride in a tumbler of Avater, the bad odor of the 
teeth Avill be removed. 

(2) To correct the odor of decayed teeth, two or three drops of a solution 
of permanganate of potassa may be used in a glass of Avater as a wash, or a 
few drops of the solution may be put into the cavity of the tooth on a small 
piece of cotton. A good remedy for a bad breath, arising from a foul 
stomach, is charcoal powder in teaspoonful doses—a dose every other morn¬ 
ing before breakfast for tAvo or three Aveeks, if necessary. 

(3) Bad breath from catarrh, foul stomach, or bad teeth, may be tem¬ 
porarily relieved by diluting a little bromo chloralum Avith eight or ten part* 


•127 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 

of water, and using it as a gargle, and swallowing a few di*ops before going 
out. A pint of bromo chloralum costs fifty cents, but a small vial full will 
last a long time. 

(4) Take eight drops of muriatic acid, in half a tumbler of spring water, 
and add a little lemon peel or juice to suit the palate. Let this mixture be 
taken three times a day for some weeks, and, if found beneficial, then use it 
occasionally. 

(5) The best treatment in regard to offensive breath is the use of pow¬ 
dered charcoal, two or three tablespoonfuls per week, taken in a glass of 
water before retiring for the night. 

To stop Bleeding—(l) If a man is wounded so that the blood flows, 
that flow is either regular, or by jets or spurts. If it flows regularly, a vein 
has been wounded, and a string should be bound tightly around below the 
wounded part, that is, beyond it from the heart. If the blood comes out by 
leaps or jets, an artery has been severed, and the person may bleed to death 
in a few minutes; to prevent which apply the cord above the wound, that is, 
between the wound and the heart. In case a string or cord is not at hand, 
tie the two opposite corners of a handkerchief around the limb, put a stick 
between and turn it round until the handkerchief is twisted sufficiently tight 
to stop the bleeding, and keep it so until a physician can be had. 

(2) It is said that bleeding from a wound, on man or beast, may be 
stopped by a mixture of wheat flour an<} common salt, in equal parts, bound 
on with a cloth. If the bleeding be profuse, use a large quantity, say from 
one to three pints. It may be left on for hours or even days, if necessary. 
The person who gave us this receipt says: “ In this manner I saved the life 
of a horse Avhich was bleeding from a wounded artery; the bleeding ceased 
in five minutes after the application.” 

(3) Blood may be made to cease to flow as follows: Take fine dust of tea 
and bind it close to the wound; at all times accessible and easily to be 
obtained. After the blood has ceased to flow, laudanum may be advantage¬ 
ously applied to the Avound. Due regard to these instructions would save 
agitation of mind, and running for the surgeon, who Avould, probably, make 
no better prescription if he were present. 

(4) Powdered rosin is the best thing to stop bleeding from cuts. After 
the poAvder is sprinkled on, wrap the Avound with a soft cotton cloth. As 
soon as the Avound begins to feel feverish, keep the cloth Avet with cold 
Avater. 

(5) For internal bleeding put the patient in bed with the head slightly 
raised, keep the room cool, and give frequently a SAvalloAv of the coldest 
water or a pellet of ice. 

(6) For bleeding, take linen or other rags, burn to charcoal and put it in 
the Avound, and no more blood Avill come. 

(7) For bleeding at the cavity of an extracted tooth, pack the alveolus 
fully and firmly Avith cotton Avet Avith alum Avater. 

Children’s Palls. —A child rolls down the stairs, or falls from a height, 
and in either case strikes its head Avith force. What shall be done till the 
doctor comes ? We would give the folloAving directions, as nearly as possible 
in the order in Avhich they should be adopted, liaise the child gently in the 
arms, and carrying to the nearest sofa or be4, place him on it—unless crying 
loudly, when he can Ijo soothed quickest in his mother’s arms. All the 
clothing should be loosened, especially about the neck, to afford the freest 


428 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 




circulation of the blood to and from the head. To equalize the circulation 
and prevent inflammations the head should be kept cool and the extremities 
warm. Cooling lotions of arnica or witch hazel and water or simply water 
should be applied to the head on thin cloths, well wrung out so as not to wet 
the pillows and bed-clothes. Not more than two or four thicknesses of linen 
should be used, because thick cloths prevent evaporation, and what was 
intended to cool the head acts as a poultice and makes the head hotter. Ice 
and cold water should not be used unless the head be very hot, as it is 
believed children have been killed by the application of pounded ice to the 
head. 

Bottles of hot water or hot irons are all that is necessary, besides the bed¬ 
clothing, to heat the extremities. All applications of mustard and other 
irritants possess no advantage over these, and have the disadvantage of dis¬ 
turbing the sufferer. Should the patient’s face be very pale, and signs of 
fainting appear, camphor or ammonia should be applied to the nostrils, and 
a little brandy or wine be given. 

Then the room should be made as quiet as possible and every means 
used to invite “ Natiire’s sweet restorer,” sleep. We know the popular idea 
is that patients suffering from any injury to the head should be kept awake 
by all means; and it is mainly to combat this erroneous notion that we are 
prompted to write out these directions. 

No injury—or degree of injury—of the head contraindicates the sufferer's 
sleeping. In fact positive harm may be done in trying to prevent sleep. 
Rest is what the brain and blood vessels want more than any other thing; 
and, if not allowed, what would have passed off in a few hours or days may 
be prolonged into inflammation, with all its dangerous consequences. 

Of course the air of the room should be kept pure—windows and doors 
open if the weather permit—and the presence of persons not absolutely 
necessary forbidden. 

Cancer. —(1) The following is said to be a sure cure for cancer: A piece 
of sticking plaster is put over the cancer, with a circular piece cut out of the 
center, a little larger than the cancer, so that the cancer and a small circular 
rim of healthy skin next to it is exposed. Then a plaster, made of chloride 
of zinc, blood root and wheat flour, is spread on a piece of muslin, the size 
of this circular opening, and applied to the cancer for tw r enty-four hours. 
On removing it, the cancer will be found burned into, and appear of the 
color and hardness of an old shoe sole, and the circular rim outside of it 
will appear white and parboiled, as if scalded by hot steam. The w r ound is 
now r dressed, and the outside rim soon separates, and the cancer comes out 
in a hard lump, and the place heals up. The plaster kills the cancer, so 
that it sloughs like dead flesh, and never grows again. The remedy was 
discovered by Dr. King, of London, and has been used by him for several 
years with unfailing success, and not a case has been known of the 
reappearance of the cancer when this remedy has been applied. 

(2) An old Indian cancer doctor in Oregon pronounces this a sure cure: 
Take common w r ood sorrel, bruise it on brass, spread it in the form ot a 
poultice, and apply as long as the patient can bear; then apply bi*ead and 
milk poultice until the patient can bear the wood sorrel agaiu. Continue 
this until the cancer is drawn out by the roots. 

(3) Take the blossoms of red clover and make tea of them, and 
drink freely. It will cure cancer in the stomach as well as on the 
surface. 


429 


T11E HOME PHYSICIAN. 


Consumption—(l) A correspondent in Canada writes this interesting 
and, perhaps, useful letter to Chambers' Journal: “ Noticing an extract from 
the World of Science, in which a physician strongly recommends hot water 
in place of tea or coffee as a stimulant for the use of those requiring to study 
late at night, I would like to give my experience of it as a beneficial agent in 

consumption: Mrs.-, one of a family a number of whose members had 

died of consumption, was, after severe exposure to a snow storm, seized with 
a serious cough and expectoration, accompanied with a loss of flesh. Ex¬ 
amination by a physician showed that one lung was seriously affected. She 
was wholly confined to her room, and everything that medical attendance 
and loving care could do to mitigate her suffering was done, but ineffectu¬ 
ally. The depressing night sweats continued, together with loss of rest from 
repeated fits of coughing. Losing all faith in medicine some six months ago, 
its use was wholly abandoned and the use of nourishing diet only continued. 
About ten weeks ago the patient’s attention was directed to a newspaper 
paragraph recommending hot water as a remedy for consumption. Feeling 
that little harm could ensue from its use, she determined to test it. At the 
moment of retiring a large tumbler of hot water, in which the juice of a 
lemon had been mixed to free it from nausea, was taken. In a few mo¬ 
ments a glow of warmth would pervade the lungs, chest, etc., quickly fol¬ 
lowed by the most refreshing sleep, which would be unbroken by any cough,, 
and the patient would awake in the morning rested and strengthened. A 
few days ago she was seized with a fit of coughing, during which was 
coughed up into her mouth a small stone about the size of a pea—formed of 
sulphate of lime, I believe, and usually considered a symptom of the healing 
of a cavity in the lung.” 

(2) A correspondent writes as follows about the flower of a well-known 
plant: “ I have discovered a remedy for consumption. It has cured a num¬ 
ber of cases after they had commenced bleeding at the lungs and the hectic 
flush was already on the cheek. After trying this remedy to my own satis¬ 
faction, I have thought that philanthropy required that I should let it be 
known to the world. It is common mullen, steeped strongly and sweetened 
with coffee sugar, and drank freely. Young or old plants ai'e good, dried in 
the shade and kept in clean bags. The medicine must be continued from 
three to six months, according to the nature of the disease. It is very good 
for the bloodvessels also. It strengthens and builds up the system instead 
of taking away the strength. It makes good blood and takes inflammation 
away from the lungs.” 

(3) English physicians recommend the free use of lemons for consump¬ 
tion. It has long been known that they are excellent in the cure of rheuma¬ 
tism, and, fortunately, they are both cheap and grateful to the palate. A 
little sugar only should be used with them, and a dozen a day are none too 
many. 

Felons.—(1) Felons, which are usually termed “Whitlow” by physi¬ 
cians, we believe, are a very painful and often very serious affection of the 
fingers, generally of the last joints, aud often near or involving the nails. As 
the fingers are much exposed to bruises, felons are quite common among 
those who constantly use their hands at hard work. If allowed to continue 
until matter (pus) forms, and the periosteum or bone sheathing is affected, 
lancing is necessary; but if taken in time, a simple application of copal var¬ 
nish, covering it with a bandage, is highly recommended. If the varnish 
becomes dry and unpleasantly hard, a little fresh varnish may bo applied 



430 


Tin. nous mm tr>. 


from time to time. When a cure is effected, the varnish is easily removed 
hy rubbing into it a little lard and washing with soap and water. Pr. A. B. 
Isham details, in Medical News, a number of cases of its application with 
uniform success, where formations of pus had not previously occurred. In 
two cases there were apparently a combination of the “run-around” with 
a felon, and in all of them there was swelling, redness, heat, and great pain, 
lie suggests the use of copal varnish for felons, run arounds, boils, and any 
local acute inflammations of external parts. 

(2) Take the root of the plant known as dragon root, Jack-in-the-pulpit, 
or Indian turnip, either green or dry; grate about one-half a teaspoonful 
into four tablespoontuls of sweet milk; simmer gently a few minutes, then 
thicken with bread crumbs, and apply as hot as possible. This can be heated 
again two or three times, adding a little milk each time. If the felon is just 
starting, this will drive it back; if somewhat advanced will draw it out 
quickly and gently. It is well to put a little tallow on the poultice, especially 
after opening, to prevent sticking. This same poultice is good for a car¬ 
buncle or anything rising. 

(3) Many persons are liable to extreme suffering from felons on the fin¬ 
ger. The following prescription is recommended as a cure for the distress¬ 
ing ailment: Take common rock salt, such as is used for salting down pork 
or beef, dry it in an oven, then pound it fine and mix with spirits of turpen¬ 
tine in equal parts. Put it on a rag and wrap it around the part affected, 
and as it gets dry put on more, and in twenty-four hours you are cured— 
the felon is dead. 

(4) The following directions carefully observed, will prevent those cir¬ 
cular and osseous abominations, known as felons. As soon as the disease is 
felt, put directly over the snot, a fly blister, about the size of your thumb 
nail, and let it remain for six hours, at the expiration of which time, directly 
under the surface of the blister, may be seen the felon, which can instantly 
be taken out with the point of a needle or lancet. 

(5) At first great relief is obtained by soaking the part in half a gill of 
strong vinegar, in which has been dissolved one tablespoonful of saleratus. 
Use it as hot as it can be borne, and repeat as often as the pain returns. A 
thimbleful of unslacked lime and soft soap has cured some cases in a few 
hours. If matter forms, it had better be poulticed and lanced, or it will be 
painful from two to six weeks. 

(6) As soon as it makes its appearance apply a poultice, of equal parts 
of saltpeter and brimstone, mix with sufficient lard to make a paste, and 
renew as soon as it gets dry. A few applications will effect a cure. 

Dyspepsia.—(l) We have seen dyspeptics who suffered untold torments 
with almost every kind of food; no liquid could be taken without suffering; 
bread became a burning acid; meat and milk were solid liquid fires; and we 
have seen their torments pass away, and their hunger relieved by living on 
the white of eggs which have been boiled in bubbling water for thirty min¬ 
utes. At the end of a week we have given the half yelk of the egg with the 
white, and upon this diet alone, without food of any kind, we have seen 
them begin to gain flesh and strength, and quiet, refreshing sleep. After 
weeks of this treatment they have been able, with care, to begin upon other 
food. And all this without taking medicine. Hard-boiled eggs are not half 
so bad as half-boiled ones, and ten times as easy to digest as raw eggs, even 
in egg-nog. 

(2) Milk and lime water is said to prove beneficial in dyspepsia and 


431 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 

weakness of the stomach. The way to make the lime water is simply to 
procure a few lumps of unslaked lime, put the lime in a fruit can, add water 
until it is slaked and of the consistency of thin cream; the lime settles, and 
leaves the pure and clear lime water at the top. A goblet of cow’s milk may 
have six or eight teaspoonfuls of lime water added with good effect. Great 
care should be taken not to get tl e lime water too strong; pour off without 
disturbing the precipitated lime. Sickness of the stomach is promptly re¬ 
lieved by a teacuplul of warm water with a teaspoonful of soda dissolved m 
it. If it brings the offending matter up, all the better. 

(3) Dr. Nicliom, who has made a series of dietetic experiments on him¬ 
self, has arrived at the conclusion that, if the stomach is allowed to rest, any 
case of dyspepsia may be cured; that the diet question was at the root of all 
diseases; that pure blood can only be made from pure food, and that, if the 
drink of a nation were pure and free from stimulating qualities, and the food 
was also pure, the result would be pure health. 

(4) In mild cases take one teaspoonful sweet oil, after eating, three times 
a day. In severe forms take a dessertspoonful. This followed up has cured 
cases where doctors have given them up. Ye who suffer from this dread 
disease, don’t fail to try it; surely it can’t hurt you. 

(5) Burn alum until the moisture in it is evaporated, then take as much 
as you can put on a dime, about half an hour before eating. Three or four 
days probably will answer; but take it until cured. 

i>y sentery.—(1) Dysentery, or inflammation of the great intestine, pre¬ 
vails in the autumnal season more particularly, and in low-lying and marshy 
districts. It occasionally occurs also as an epidemic in overcrowded insti¬ 
tutions and unhealthy localities. Treatment: Dysentery attacks those soon¬ 
est whose blood is impoverished and whose vital powers are generally de¬ 
pressed from some cause—a fact which suggests a building-up plan of treat¬ 
ment. Although dysentery commences in the great intestine, the liver soon 
becomes secondarily affected, and it, therefore, behooves the patient to be 
very cautious as to the amount of stimulation he subjects himself to; malt 
liquors and spirits are not permissable. His food, too, must be of the light¬ 
est kind. The following medicines will be found most useful: Castor-oil 
mixture: Take of castor-oil, six drachms; compound powder of tragacanth, 
one ounce; cinnamon water, six ounces. Take a sixth part three times a 
day. The nitric acid mixture: Take of dilute nitric acid, two drachms; 
spirit of chloroform, two drachms; tincture of opium, half a drachm; pepper¬ 
mint water, six ounces. Take two tablespoonfuls every four hours. With 
either of the above mixtures a powder containing three grains of ipecacuanha 
and six grains of sugar may be taken every night and morning. Ipecacuanha 
becomes an invaluable medicine in dysentery, by virtue of the specific power 
it exerts on all mucous membranes in causing increased action of their mu¬ 
cous follicles; and thus it is that it gives so much relief to the dysenteric 
patient, in whom the dry and, perhaps, ulcerated surface of the intestine is 
soothed and lubricated by an increased flow of mucus. 

(2) The egg is considered one of the best of remedies for dysentery. 
Beaten up slightly, with or without sugar, and swallowed at a gulp, it tends, 
by its emollient qualities, to lessen the inflammation of the stomach and in¬ 
testine, and, by forming a transient coating on these organs, to enable nature 
to resume her healthful sway over a diseased body. Two, or at most three 
eggs per day, would bo all that is required in ordinary cases, and since egg 
is not merely mediciuo but food as well, the lighter the diet otherwise 


432 THE II0 US EIIOLU. 

and the quieter the patient id kept the more certain and rapid is the 
recovery. 

(3) Take one pint of best wine vinegar, and add half a pound of best loaf 
sugar. Simmer them together in a pewter vessel, with a pewter top. Let 
the patient drink this during the day—a small quantity at a time—eithe** 
clear, or diluted with water. 

Diphtheria. —Cl) Dr. Chenery, of Boston, has lately discovered that 
hyposulphite of soda is the specific remedy against diphtheria, that so much 
dx-eaded ailment, which of late years lias cariied off many valuable lives, 
lie reports a very large number of cases saved by the vse of this remedy. 
The dose of the hyposulphite is from five to fifteen grains or more in syrup, 
every two to four hours, according to age and circumstances. It can do no 
harm, but if too much is given it will purge; as much as the patient can 
bear without pui*ging is a good rule in the severer cases. The solution or 
mixture can be used in doses of five drops to half a drachm in milk. The 
amount for thorough stimulation is greater than can be taken in water. The 
doctor usually gives it in such doses as can be easily taken in milk, using 
milk besides as a food for small children. One fact, however, needs to be 
borne in mind, namely, the hyposulphite prevents the digestion of milk, and 
it should not be given in less than an hour after taking the medicine. They 
may be used alternately, however, without interference, in sufficiently fre¬ 
quent doses. 

(2) The treatment consists in thoroughly swabbing the back of the 
mouth and throat with a wash made thus: Table salt, two di'achms; black 
pepper, golden seal, nitrate of potash, alum, one drachm each. Mix and 
pulverize, put into a teacup half full of water, stir well, and then fill up with 
good vinegar. Use every half hour, one, two, and four lioui’S, as recovery 
progresses. The patient may swallow a little each time. Apply one ounce 
each of spirits of turpentine, sweet oil, and aqua ammonia, mixed, eveiy 
hour, to the whole of the throat, and to the breast bone evei'y four hours, 
keeping flannel to the part. 

(3) A correspondent writes that he has used the following remedy for 
diphtheria in a great many hard cases, and in not one has it failed to effect 
a cure. It is as follows: Procure some pitch tar—not gas tar—put a little 
on a hot iron, invert funnel over the smoke, and let the patient inhale as 
much as he can for a few minutes five or six times a day. During the 
intervals let the patient have small pieces of ice to keep as near the root of 
the tongue as possible. 

(4) In Fx-ance lemon jxxice is in high repute as a remedy for diphtheria. 
As a local application it is preferred to chlorate of potash, nitrate of silver, 
percliloride of iron, alum or lime water. It is used by dipping a littje plug 
of cotton wool twisted ai*ound a wire in the juice, and pressing it against the 
diseased surface four or five times daily. 

(5) A gargle of sulphur and water has been used with much success in 
caees of diphtheria. Let the patient swallow a little of the mixture. Or, 
when you discover that your throat is a little sore, bind a strip of flannel 
around the throat, wet in camphor, and gargle salt and vinegar occa¬ 
sionally. 

(6) Take a common tobacco pipe, place a live coal within tho bowl, drop 
a little tar xipon the coal, and let the patient draw smoke into the mouth, 
and discharge it through the nostrils. The remedy is safe and simple, and 
should be tried whenever occasion may require. 





THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


43 ) 


Croup —There are various remedies for this enemy in the nursery. As 
in other diseases, prevention is better than cure. Children liable to croup 
should not play out of doors after three o’clock in the afternoon. If a woolen 
shawl is closely pinned around the neck of the patient when the first symp¬ 
toms of croup appear the attack may be diminished in power. The child 
struggling for breath naturally throws its arms out of bed to breathe through 
its pores, and thus takes more cold and increases its trouble. Bi-chromate 

of potassa iu minute doses—as much as will rest on the point of a penknife_ 

given every half hour till relief is obtained, is the best remedy we have ever 
tried. Mustard plasters on the ankles, wrist and chest will draw the blood 
from the throat and relieve it, cloths wrung from hot water and placed about 
the chest and throat and wrapped with flannel, give relief. A teaspoonful of 
alum pulverized and mixed with twice its quantity of sugar, to make it 
palatable, will give almost instant help. Another remedy is the following: 
Take equal parts of soda or saleratus and syrup or molasses; mix and give 
a teaspoonful for a clfild turn years, larger doses for older children, smaller 
for nursing babies. Repeat the doses at short intervals until the phlegm is 
all thrown up, and upon each recurrence of the symptoms. Or, grate a raw 
onion, strain out the juice, and to two parts of the juice put one part of castor 
oil; keep it well corked in a bottle, shake well, give one teaspoonful once in 
tw T o or three hours. Or, take two parts sweet lard and six parts pulverized 
sugar, mix thoroughly, and give a teaspoonful every fifteen minutes until 
relief is obtained. Among the many remedies given we hope that one or 
more may be available to every mother who needs aid in this matter. 

Diarrhoea.—(1) It is said the small plant commonly known by the name 
rupturewort, made into tea, and drank frequently, is a sure cure for diar¬ 
rhoea. Rupturewort grows in nearly every open lot, and along the roads. 
It is a small plant, throwing out a number of shoots in a horizontal direction, 
and lying close to the ground, something similar to the manner of the pus- 
leyweed, and bears a small, dark green leaf, with an oblong, purple spot in 
the center. When the stem is broken, a v T hite milky substance will ooze 
from the wound. It is very palatable, and infants take it as readily as any 
drink. This is an old Indian cure, and may be relied on. The botanical 
name of this plant is Euphrobia Metadata. 

(2) Blackberry cordial is said to be almost a specific for summer com¬ 
plaint or 'diarrhoea. From a teaspoonful to a wineglass is to be taken, ac¬ 
cording to the age of the patient, until relieved. Following is a recipe for 
making blackberry cordial: To two quarts of juice add one pound of white 
sugar; half ounce nutmeg, half ounce cinnamon, pulverized; half ounce 
cloves, pulverized. Boil all together for a short time, and when cold add a 
pint of brandy. 

(3) Take Indian corn, roasted and ground in the manner of coffee, or 
coarse meal browned, and boil in a sufficient quantity of water to produce a 
strong liquid, like coffee, and drink a teacupful warm, two or three times a 
day. One day’s practice, it is said, will ordinarily effect a cure. 

(4) The ingredients are: Sulphate of morphia, one grain; Glauber salts, 
quarter of an ounce; water, two ounces. Dose: A teaspoonful twice a day. 
If attended with much pain and looseness, administer this medicine every 
two hours. 

(5) A strong solution of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) taken fre¬ 
quently is a reliable remedy for diarrhoea troubles, particularly those aris¬ 
ing from acidity of the stomach, 


I 




434 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Corns.—(1) For soft corns soak the feet well in hot water before go¬ 
ing to bed, then pare down the corn, and, after having just moistened it, rub 
a little lunar caustic on the corn and just around the edge, till it turns light 
gray. By the next morning it will be black, and when the burnt skin peels 
off if will leave no vestige of the corn underneath. Of course, the corn is 
liable to return, but not for some length of time. Or, scrape a bit of com¬ 
mon chalk, and put a pinch of the powder on the corn at night, binding a 
piece of linen round. Repeat this for a few days, when the corn will come 
off in little scales. 

(2) Take quarter cup of strong vinegar, crumb finely into it some bread. 
Let stand half an hour, or until it softens into a good poultice. Then apply, 
on retiring at night. In the morning the soreness will be gone and the corn 
can be picked out. If the com is a very obstinate one, it may require two 
or more applications to effect a cure. 

(3) To cure corns, take a lemon, cut a piece of it otf, then nick it so as to 
let in the toe with the corn. Tie this on at night so that it cannot move, 
and you will find the next morning that, with a blunt knife, the corn will 
come away to a great extent. Two or three applications will effect a thor¬ 
ough cure. 

(4) For soft corns dip a piece of linen cloth in turpentine and wrap 
it around the toe on which the corn is situated, night and morning. 
The relief will be immediate, and, after a few days, the corn will dis¬ 
appear. 

(5) Soft corns can be cured by this corn salve: Boil tobacco down to an 
extract, then mix with it a quantity of white pitch pine, and apply it to the 
corn, renewing it once a week until the corn disappears. 

(6) Boil a potato in its skin, and after it is boiled take the skin and put 
the inside of it to the corn, and leave it on for about twelve hours; at the end 
of that period the corn will be nearly cured. 

(7) Macerate the tender leaves of ivy in strong vinegar for eight or ten 
days, then apply to the corns by means of cloths or lint saturated with the 
liquor. In a few days the corns will drop otf. 

Liquor Appetite.— (1) Dr. Unger insists that the following remedy will 
cure the cravings of the worst drunkard in the land: Take one pound of 
best, fresh, quill red Peruvian bark, powder it, and soak it in one pint of 
diluted alcohol. Afterward strain and evaporate it down to half a pint. 
Directions for its use: Dose—a teaspoonful every three hours the first and 
second day, and occasionally moisten the tongue between the doses. It acts 
like quinine, and the patient can tell by a headache if he is getting too much. 
The third day take as previous, but reduce the dose to one-half teaspoonful. 
Afterward reduce the dose to fifteen drops, and then down to ten, then down 
to five drops. To make a cure it takes from five to fifteen days, and in ex¬ 
treme cases thirty days. Seven days are about the average in which a cure 
can be effected. 

(2) At a festival of one of our reformatory institutions, a gentleman is re¬ 
ported to have said: “ I overcame the appetite for liquor by a recipe given 
to me by old Dr. Hatfield, one of those good old physicians who do not have 
a percentage from a neighboring tflhiggist. The prescription is simply an 
orange every morning half an hour before breakfast. ‘ Take that,’ said the 
doctor, ‘ and you will want neither liquor nor medicine.’ I have done so 
regularly, and fiud that liquor has become repulsive. The taste of the 
orange is in the saliva of my tongue; and it would be as well to mix water 





THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


435 

and oil as rum with my taste.” The recipe is simple, and has the recom¬ 
mendation that it can do no harm if it does no good. 

(3) The following recipe has been found efficacious in a great many 
cases: Sulphate of iron, five grains; peppermint water, eleven drachms; 
spirits of nutmeg, one drachm. This preparation acts as a tonic and stimu¬ 
lant, and so partially supplies the place of the accustomed liquor, and pre¬ 
vents the absolute physical and moral prostration that often follows a sudden 
breaking off from the use of stimulating drinks. It is to be taken in quanti¬ 
ties equal to an ordinary drachm, and as often as the desire for a drachm 
returns. 

Coughs and Colds.— (1) An old-fashioned remedy for a cold: A warm 
“ stew,” getting into bed with covering well tucked in, hot bricks to feet, 
and drinking abundantly of hot teas until there is a dripping perspiration, to 
be kept up an hour or two or more until the system is relieved, and then to 
cool off very gradually in the course of another hour, is derisively styled 
“ an old woman’s remedy ”; but for all that it will break up any cold taken 
within thirty-six hours; it will promptly relieve many of the most painful 
forms of sudden disease, with the advantage of being without danger, gives 
no shock to the system, nor wastes its strength. 

(2) Borax has proved a most effective remedy in certain forms of colds. 
In sudden hoarseness or loss of voice iu public speakers or singers, from 
colds, relief for an hour or so may be obtained by slowly dissolving, and 
partially swallowing, a lump of borax the size of a garden pea, or about 
three or four grains held in the mouth for ten or fifteen minutes before 
speaking or singing. This produces a profuse secretion of saliva, or “ water¬ 
ing ” of the mouth and throat, just as wetting brings back the missing notes 
to a flute when it is too dry. 

(3) The following remedy, communicated by a Russian, as the usual 
mode of getting rid of those complaints in that part of Russia from whence 
he came, is simple, and we can, from experience, also vouch for its efficacy. 
It is no other than a strong tea of elder flowers, sweetened with honey, 
either fresh or dried. A basin of this tea is to be drank as hot as possible, 
after the person is warm in bed; it produces a strong perspiration, and a 
slight cold or cough yields to it immediately, but the most stubborn requires 
two or three repetitions. 

(4) To a pint and a half of water, add two large poppy-heads, and two 
large lemons. Boil them till they are soft, press the lemons into the water, 
strain the liquor, and add half a drachm of saffron, and half a pound of 
brown sugar-candy, pounded. Boil all together till the sugar-candy is dis¬ 
solved; stir the whole till you perceive it will jelly; strain it a second time, 
and take the seeds from the poppies. 

(5) Put five cents’ worth of pine pitch into a pint of water. Let it sim¬ 
mer until the water is well impregnated with the flavor. Dip out the gum 
which remains undissolved and add honey enough to sweeten and make a 
thick syrup. Strain this and bottle. Dose, a teaspoonful four or five times 
a day, according to the severity of the cough. It will afford speedy relief. 

(G) Take two ounces of balm of gilead buds, the freshest you can procure, 
and boil them very slowly in a quart of water Let it simmer down to one 
pint, then strain it, and then add one pound of honey in comb, with the juice 
of three lemons. Let them all boil together until the wax in the honey is 
dissolved. This has been known to cure a cough of long standing. 

(7) Melt some resin at night on going to bed, and let the smoke from it 



436 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


fill the room. Inhaling the smoke heals the inflammation, and sleep is often 
produced when one could not sleep before for much coughing. Presevere 
until a cure is effected. A change for the better should be felt within a 
week. 

(8) For colds, coughs, croup, or lung fever, take lard or sweet oil, two 
parts; coal oil, two parts; spirits of camphor, one part; spirits of turpentine, 
one part; saturate flannel and apply to the throat and chest warm. 

Cold in tlie Head.—(1) This may sometimes be cured by inhaling 
through the nose the emanations of ammonia contained in a smelling bottle. 
If the sense of the smell is completely obliterated, the bottle should be kept 
under the pose until the pungency of the volatile alkali is felt. The bottle 
is then removed, but only to be reapplied after a minute; the second appli¬ 
cation, however, should not be long, that the patient may bear it. This easy 
operation being repeated seven or eight times in the course of five minuies, 
but always very rapidly, except the first time, the nostrils become free, the 
sense of smell is restored, and the secretion of the irritating mucous 
is stopped. This remedy is said to be peculiarly advantageous to 
singers. 

(2) A cold in the head can be cured at once, if taken care of at the very 
beginning. Dissolve a tablespoonful of borax in a pint of hot water; let it 
stand until it becomes tepid; snuff some up the nostrils two or three times 
during the day, or use the dry, powdered borax like snuff, taking a pinch as 
often as required. At night have a handkerchief saturated with spirits of 
camphor, place it near the nostrils so as to inhale the fumes while 
sleeping. 

(3) A hot lemonade is one of the best remedies in the world for a cold. 
It acts promptly and effectually, and has go unpleasant after effects. One 
lemon properly squeezed, cut in slices, put with sugar, and covered with half 
a pint of boiling water. Drink just before going to bed, and do not expose 
yourself on the following day. This remedy will ward off an attack of chills 
and fever if used properly. 

(4) When one has a bad cold and the nose is closed up so that he cannot 
breathe through it, relief may be found instantly by putting a little camphor 
and water in the center of the hand and snuffing it up the nose. It is a great 
relief. 

Catarrh.. (1) Ordinary cases of catarrh can be cured by snuffing up the 
nose a little table salt three or four times a day; but many cases of this 
troublesome complaint are caused by inability of the liver to perform its 
function properly. In such cases there is often a too alkaline condition of 
the blood. If persons thus afflicted will squeeze the juice of a good-sized 
lemon into a half-tumbler of water, and drink it Avithout sugar just before 
dinner, they Avill, if they live abstemiously, be surprised to see Iioav soon 
the catarrhal difficulty will diminish. When it fails to do so, it may be con¬ 
sidered as due to other causes. 

(2) The catarrh, writes a correspondent, can be cured by a daily use of 
raw onions as an article of food; at the same time use a snuff made of Avliite 
sugar, laundry starch, and burned alum, pulverized and mixed in equal 
quantities—to be used the same as other snuff. 

(3) A most unfailing remedy for catarrh is to smoke crushed cubeb ber¬ 
ries in a clay pipe and swallow the smoke. They can be procured at any 
drug store, at a moderate cost. Try it. 


43 ? 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 

(4) Put one tablespoonful of iode-bromide of calcium comp, into a tea¬ 
cupful of warm water. Snuff it up the nose night and morning. It is very 
cleansing and healing. 

(5) Burn a piece of alum on the stove until it becomes a white powder, 
and use it as a snuff, and it will cure catarrh and is a good remedy for cold 
in the head. 

(6) Take one pint of whiskey, and add two ounces of sulphur; shake it 
up and take a table3poonful three mornings, then miss three; so proceed 
until taken up. 

Scarlet Fever.—(l) Mr. Robert Christie, a San Francisco journalist, 
suggests a remedy for the scarlet fever which he avers has invariably proved 
successful. It is very simple, and lies within the reach of those whose 
limited means preclude them from employing the 'services of a physician. It 
is this: Take an onion, and cut it in halves; cut out a portion of the center, 
and into the cavity put a spoonful of saffron; put the pieces together, then 
wrap in cloth and bake in an oven until the onion is cooked so that the juice 
will run freely, then scpieeze out all the juice, and give the patient a tea¬ 
spoonful, at the same time rubbing the chest and throat with goose grease or 
rancid bacon, if there is any cough or soreness in the throat. In a short 
time the fever will break out in an eruption all over the body. All that is 
then necessary is to keep the patient warm, and protected from draught, and 
recovery is certain. Mr. Christie says he has been employing this remedy 
for many years, and never knew it to fail, when proper care was taken of the 
patient after its application. One family, in which there were five children 
down with the disease at one time, recently, used this simple remedy upon 
liis telling them of it, and every one of the little ones recovered in a short 
time. 

(2) An eminent physician says he cures ninety-nine out of every hundred 
cases of scarlet fever, by giving the patient warm lemonade with gum arabic 
dissolved in it. A cloth wrung out in hot water and laid upon-the stomach, 
should be removed as rapidly as it becomes cool. 

Ivy Poisoning. (1) Dr. Benjamin Edson, of Brooklyn, has had much 
experience with cases of poisoning by poison ivy, Hhus Toxicodendron. He 
is familiar with alkali and other washes usually employed in their treat¬ 
ment and considers them of little, if any, value. He has treated some severe 
cases, he states in the Medical Record, with fluid extract of gelsemium with 
uniformly the best results. As most of oiir readers know, gelsemium is the 
yellow jessamine of the South. The extract was employed in a wash made 
by mixing together a half drachm of carbolic acid, two drachms of the fluid 
extract of gelsemium, one-half ounce of glycerine and four ounces of water. 
With this cloths were kept moistened and applied to the parts affected. Two 
drops of the fluid extract of gelsemium was also given internally every 
three hours. Some cases were also treated with the same mixture with 
the carbolic acid omitted, and these yielded no less promptly than the 
others. 

(2) Bathe the parts affected with sweet spirits of niter. If the blisters are 
broken so that the niter be allowed to penetrate the cuticle, more than a 
single application is rai’ely necessary, and even where it is only applied to 
the surface of the skin three or four times a day, there is rarely a trace of 
the poison left next morning. 

(3) A wash made from the spotted alder is recommended for ivy poison- 




THE HOUSEHOLD. 


438 

ing. Also the shop water of a blacksmith’s trough as a sure cure for poisoll 
ivy, and dogwood and strong salt and water as an antidote for the poisoning 
of sumach. 

IVose Bleed.—(1) Snuffing up powdered alum will generally control 
troublesome bleeding from the nose. It will also almost always step 
excessive hemorrhage from a cavity caused by the extraction of a tooth, by 
being placed in it. 

(2) The best remedy for bleeding at the nose, as given by Dr. Gleason in 
one of his lectures, is in the vigorous motion of the jaws, as if in the act of 
mastication. In the case of a child, a wad of paper should be placed in its 
mouth, and the child should be instructed to chew it hard. It is the motion 
of the jaws that stops the flow of blood. This remedy is so very simple that 
many will feel inclined to laugh at- it, but it has never been known to fail in 
a single instance, even in very severe cases. 

(3) Lint, dipped in the nettle juice and put up the nostril, has been 
known to stay the bleeding of the nose wdien all other remedies have failed; 
fourteen or fifteen of the seeds, ground into powder and taken daily, will 
cure the swelling of the neck, known by the name of goitre, without in any 
way injuring the general health. 

(4) Bleeding from the nose may be stopped by pressing the nostrils to¬ 
gether for some minutes. Ice applied to the bridge of the nose or nape of 
the neck; snuffing up into the nostrils ice-water, vinegar, or gum-arabic 
powder, are all of them available means to check the effusion. 

Baldness. —(1) A gentleman who had lost nearly all his hair after a very 
severe attack of fever, consulted a French physician of great reputed suc¬ 
cess as a hair restorer. The prescription given him was a drachm of homeo¬ 
pathic tincture of phosphorus to one ounce of castor oil; the bare spot he 
rubbed two times weekly, for half an hour each time, after the skin of the 
head had been thoroughly cleansed with warm water without soap. The 
treatment was faithfully carried out about six months; the hair soon began 
to grow, and, in a year from the time of following the doctor’s advice, his 
head was as thoroughly covered as ever, the new hair being about two 
shades darker than the old. 

(2) In two ounces of spirits of wine steep two drachms of cantliarides 
(pulverized) for a fortnight or three weeks, shaking it repeatedly during 
that time. Then filter it, and rub up one-tentli of the tincture so procured, 
with nine-tenths of cold hog’s lard. Scent it with a few drops of any kind of 
perfume, and rub it well into the head every morning and evening. 

(3) Hair, removed by fevers and other sickness, is made to grow by 
washing the scalp with a strong decoction of sage leaves once or twice a day. 

Small Pox.—(1) The following remedy for this loathsome disease is very 
simple, and on the authority of a surgeon of the British army of China, it is 
said to be a thorough cure, even in extreme cases: When the preceding 
fever is at its height, and just before the eruption appears, the chest is 
rubbed with croton oil and tartaric ointment. This causes the whole erup¬ 
tion to appear on that part of the body, to the relief of the rest. It also se¬ 
cures a full and complete eruption, and thus prevents the disease from 
attacking the internal organs. 

(2) The following will cure not only small pox, but also scarlet fever. It 
is harmless when taken by a person in health: Sulphate of zinc, one grain; 
foxglove (digitalis), one grain; half a teaspoonful of sugar; mix with two 


439 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 

tablespoonfuls of water. When thoroughly mixed add f( ur ounces of water. 
Take a spoonful every hour. Either disease will disappear in twelve 
hours. For a child, smaller doses, according to the age. If countries 
would compel their physicians to use this there would he no need of a pest 
house. 

(3; “ I am willing to risk my reputation as a public man,” wrote Edward 
Hine to the Liverpool Mercury , “if the worst case of small pox cannot bo 
cured in three days, simply by the use of cream of tartar. One ounce of 
cream of tartar, dissolved in a pint of water, drank at intervals when cold, 
is a certain never-failing remedy. It has cured thousands, never leaves a 
mark, never causes blindness, and avoids tedious lingering.” 

Sleeplessness—(1) Nervous persons, who are troubled with wakeful¬ 
ness and excitability, usually have a strong tendency of blood to the brain, 
with cold extremities. The pressure of the blood on the brain keeps it in a 
stimulated, or wakeful state, and the pulsations in the head are often pain¬ 
ful. Let such rise and chafe the body and extremities with a brush or 
towel, or rub smartly with the hands, to promote circulation, and withdraw 
the excessive amount of blood from the brain, and they will fall asleep in a 
few moments. A cold bath, or a sponge bath and rubbing, or a good run, or 
rapid walk in the open air, or going up or down stairs a few times just before 
retiring, will aid in equalizing circulation and promoting sleep. These rules 
are simple and easy of application, in castle or cabin. 

(2) A little English work, “ Sleep and How to obtain it,” says that in¬ 
somnia is not so dangerous as is commonly supposed, for the author knows 
an eminent man of letters who has suffered from it for many years without 
injury. When a man begins to dream of his work he may know that he is 
under too great a mental strain. The author’s plan of inducing sleep is to 
reckon up friends and acquaintances whose name begins with a certain 
letter. 

(3) If troubled with wakefulness on -retiring to bed, eat three or four 
small onions; they will act as a gentle and soothing narcotic. Onions are 
also excellent to eat when one is much exposed to cold. 

Ringworm.— (1) Oil of paper made by birrning a sheet of ordinary 
writing paper upon a plate, will cure a ringworm, which is caused by con¬ 
tagion or some impurity in the blood; the oil will be seen after the paper is 
burned in the form of a yellow spot; this applied with the finger twice a day 
will in a very short time cure the worst of ringworms. 

(2) Tincture of iodine, painted over a ringworm, for three or four days in 
succession, will entirely cure it in a few days. It stains the skin considerably 
whenever it is applied, and this is the only objection to it. Those who 
object to this need not use it; they may keep the ringworm The stain goes 
off in a few days. 

(3) Heat a shovel to a bright red, cover it with grains of Indian corn, 
press them with a cold flat iron. They will burn to a coal and exude an oil 
on the surface of the flat iron, with which rub the ring, and after one or two 
applications it will gradually disappear. 

(4) Make a curd by mixing alum and the white of an egg over a nre until 
it is the consistency of pomatum; spread over the ringworm. One or two 
applications should effect a cure. 

(5) Simple cerate, one pound; diluted sulphuric acid, one-quarter of a 
pound. Mix and apply. 


440 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


(G) To one part of sulphuric acid add sixteen parts of water. Use a 
brush or feather, and apply it to the parts night and morning. If the solu¬ 
tion prove too strong, add a little more water. If the irritation is excessive, 
apply a little glycerine. Avoid the use of soap. 

Chilblains.—(1) Slice raw potatoes, with the skins on, and sprinkle 
over them a little salt, and as soon as the liquid therefrom settles in the 
bottom ef the dish, wash with it the chilblains; one application is all that is 
necessary. 

(2) An unfailing remedy for chilblains: A solution of thirty grains of per¬ 
manganate of potassa in an ounce of pure water, to be applied thoroughly 
with brush or swab, or in the form of a poultice. 

(3) Rub the part affected with brandy and salt, which hardens the feet 
at the same time that it removes the inflammation. Sometimes a third ap¬ 
plication cures the most obstinate chilblains. 

(4) To relieve the intense itching of frosted feet, dissolve a lump of alum 
in a little water, and bathe the part with it, warming it before the fire. One 
or two applications is sure to give relief. 

(5) Put the hands and feet once a week into hot water, in which two or 
three handfuls of common salt have been thrown. This is a certain pre¬ 
ventive as well as a cure. 

(6) In the evening, before retiring, take salt and vinegar made as hot as 
can be borne on the parts affected; bathe with a small cloth, and do so until 
cured. 

(7) Mix together one ounce of turpentine and tliree-eightlis of an ounce 
of oil of sassafras. Apply the solution morning and evening. 

Costiveness.—(1) Bread and milk, though excellent for children in gen¬ 
eral, is not as good food for a costive child as bread made of corn-meal or 
graham flour. Wheat bread is not good for a very costive child. When 
medicine becomes necessary, a teaspoonful of magnesia dissolved in sweet¬ 
ened milk or water, and given morning and night, until the bowels become 
regular, is usually sufficient. Purgatives should be carefully avoided, ex¬ 
cept for a disordered stomach, and then they become necessary. Well-ven¬ 
tilated sleeping-rooms, and frequent bathing, go further than most people 
suppose, toward keeping the body in a healthy condition. To mothers who 
nurse their infants, we say, if the mother is regular, the child will be, and 
the reverse. Therefore, instead of dosing a child with medicine, let her d'et 
lor the evil, and save her little one much suffering. A lady correspondent 
some time since wrote us: “I have used, with much benefit, the herb known 
as tlioroughwort, prepared by putting the dried herb in water and letting it 
stand until it becomes bitter. A portion drank before each meal, has proved 
the best remedy for costiveness I ever used.” 

(2) Common charcoal is highly recommended for costiveness. It may 
be taken either in tea or tablespoonful, or even larger doses, according to 
the exigencies of the case, mixed with molasses, repeating it as often as 
necessary. Bathe the bowels with pepper and vinegar. Or take two ounces 
of rhubarb, add one ounce of rust of iron, infuse in one quart of wine. Half 
a wineglassful every morning. Or take pulverized blood-root, one drachm; 
pulverized rhubarb, one drachm; Castile soap, two scruples. Mix and roll 
into thirty-two pills. Take one morning and night. By following these di¬ 
rections it may perhaps save you from a severe attack of piles, or some other 
kindred disease. 




THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


441 


Cholem Morbus.—(1) The following is the recipe for the celebrated 
“Sun Cholera Mixture”: Take equal parts of tincture of opium, tincture 
of capsicum, rhubarb, peppermint, and camphor, and mix. Dose from fifteen 
to twenty drops in four tablespoonfuls of water. Bepeat the dose every half 
hour till relieved. This is also an excellent remedy for any ordinary laxity 
of the bowels, or summer complaint. In that case one dose, as above pre¬ 
scribed, twice in every 24 hours, will suffice for a cure, if taken in time. 

(2) For cholera morbus, take black pepper and grind it tolerably fine. 
Then put in a glass a tablespoonful of this and a tablespoonful of salt, and 
fill about half full with warm water, then fill up the glass with good cider 
vinegar, and stir it up. Now take one tablespoonful, and then wait a little 
and take another, and keep on stirring and using it while the vomiting lasts. 
If one glass does not cure, try another. 

(3) (Said to be a certaiu cure).—The ingredients are: One glassful of 
West India rum, one glassful of molasses, one glassful of spring water, and 
three tablespoonfuls of ginger. Mix them altogether and take it. It is said 
to afford immediate relief. 

To Restore tlie Drowning —The rules that ought to be observed in 
treating a person rescued from the water are few and simple. Dr. H. B. 
Silvester’s methods of restoring the apparently dead or drowned—which 
have been approved by the royal medical and chirurgical society—are prac¬ 
tical, easily understood, and are in accordance with common sense. The 
one important point to be aimed at is, of course, the restoration of breathing, 
and the efforts to accomplish this should bo persevered in until the arrival 
of medical assistance, or until the pulse and breath have ceased for at least 
an hour. Cleanse the mouth and nostrils; open the mouth; draw forward 
the patient’s tongue with a handkerchief, and keep it forward; remove all 
tight clothing from about the neck and chest. As to the patient’s position, 
place him on his back on a flat surface, inclined a little from the feet up¬ 
ward; raise and support the head and shoulders on a snlall, firm cushion or 
folded article of dress placed under the shoulder blades. Then grasp tho 
arms just above the elbows, and draw the arms gently and steadily upward, 
until they meet above the head (this is for the purpose of drawing air into 
the lungs); and keep the arms in that position for two seconds. Then turn 
down the patient’s arms, and press them gently and firmly for two seconds 
against the sides of the chest (with the object of pressing air out of the lungs; 
pressure on the breast bone will aid this). Bepeat these measures alter¬ 
nately, deliberately and perseveringlv, fifteen times in a minute, until a 
spontaneous effort to respire is perceived, upon which cease to imitate the 
movements of breathing, and proceed to induce circulation and warmth. 
This may be done by wrapping the patient in dry blankets and rubbing the 
limbs upward, firmly and energetically. Promote the warmth of the body 
by the application of hot flannels, bottles of hot water, etc., to the pit of the 
stomach, the arm-pits, and to the soles of the feet. Warm clothing may 
generally be obtained from a bystander. On the restoration of life, stimu¬ 
lants slioul 1 be given, and a disposition to sleep encouraged. 

Brlglit’s Disease. —Dr. Alex. Do Borra, of Crystal Springs, N. Y., writes 
that, after years of practical test of the milk diet for Bright’s disease, he has 
a long list of cases in which he has made perfect cures. Great care is taken 
to get absolutely pure skimmed milk, from healthy and well-fed cows, and 
no other food of any kind is given after the patient can bear five pints of milk 


442 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


a day. Up to this point, and until the stomach is able to take care of so 
much, is found to be the most trying period in this treatment, but no other 
medicine is given, and hand and hair-glove rubbing is daily administered. 

Another correspondent takes exception to the claim made that no drag 
of any therapeutic value in that disease has yet been discovered. In sup¬ 
port of his assertion he sends \is a recipe which he claims has effected a 
cure in Bright’s disease, as well as in dropsy, in every case in which it has 
been tried during the last fifteen years. He recommends the drinking of 
an infusion of the dry pods of the common white soup bean or com bean. 
When the latter cannot be readily obtained, the pods of the “snap short” 
bean will answer, and even the Lima bean, though the latter is of inferior 
strength. The recipe is as follows: “ Take a double handful of the pods to 
three quarts of water; boil slowly for three hours until it is reduced to three 
pints. Use no drink of any kind but this, the patient drinking as much as 
lie conveniently can; it may be taken either hot or cold.” 

Hot Water as a Remedy. —There is no remedy of such general appli¬ 
cation and none so easily attainable as water, and yet nine persons in ten 
will pass by it in an emergency to seek for something of far less efficacy. 

There are but few cases of illness where water should not occupy the 
highest place as a remedial agent. 

A strip of flannel or a napkin folded lengthwise and dipped in hot water 
and wrung out and then applied around the neck of a child that lias the 
croup will usually bring relief in ten minutes. 

A towel folded several times and dipped in hot water and quickly wrung 
and applied over the seat of the pain in toothache or neuralgia will generally 
afford prompt relief. This treatment in colic works like magic. I have seen 
cases that have resisted other treatment for hours yield to this in ten min¬ 
utes. There is nothing that will so promptly cut short a congestion of the 
lungs, sore throat or rheumatism as hot water when applied promptly and 
thoroughly. 

Pieces of cotton batting dipped in hot water and kept applied to old sores 
or new cuts, bruises and sprains, is the treatment now generally adopted in 
hospitals. I have seen a sprained ankle cured in an hour by shoAvering it 
with hot water, poured from a height of three feet. 

Tepid water acts promptly as an emetic, and hot water taken freely half 
an hour before bedtime is the best of cathartics in the case of constipation, 
while it has a most soothing effect on the stomach and bowels. This treat¬ 
ment continued for a few months, with proper attention to diet, will cure 
any curable case of dyspepsia. 

To Remove Superfluous Hairs —Some few hairs will frequently grow 
where they are not wanted, and are often difficult to get rid of Close shav¬ 
ing and cutting strengthens them and increases their number; the only plan 
is to pull them out individually with a pair of tweezers, and afterward to 
dress the part two or three times a day in the following manner: Wash it 
first with warm, soft water, but do not use soap; then apply with a piece of 
soft rag, immediately after the washing, a lotion of milk of roses, made ac¬ 
cording to the following directions, and rub the skin gently till it is dry with 
a warm, soft cloth: Beat four ounces of sweet almonds in a mortar to a paste 
with half an ounce of white sugar; then work in, in small quantities, eight 
ounces of rosewater; strain the emulsion through muslin, put the liquid into 
a bottle, return the residuum to the mortar, pound it again, and add half an 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


443 


ounce of sugar and eight ounces of rosewater; then strain again, and i*epeat 
the process a third time. This will give thirty-two ounces of fluid, to which 
add twenty grains of bichloride of mercury dissolved in two ounces of 
alcohol. Shake the whole for five minutes, and the lotion will be ready for use. 

Convulsions. —Dr. Williamson reports an interesting and remarkable 
case in which he saved the life of an infant in convulsions by the use of 
chloroform. He commenced the use of it at nine o’clock one evening, at 
which period the child was rapidly sinking, numerous remedies having been 
already tried without effect. He dropped half a drachm of chloroform into 
a thin muslin handkerchief, and held it about an inch from the infant’s face. 
In about two minutes the convulsions gave way, and the child fell into a 
sleep. By slightly releasing the child from the influence of the chloroform, 
he was able to administer food by which the child was nourished and 
strengthened. The chloroform was continually administered in the manner 
described, from Friday evening at nine o’clock until Monday morning at 
nine. This treatment lasted sixty hours, and sixteen ounces of chloroform 
were used. Dr. Williamson says he has no doubt that the chloroform was 
instrumental in saving the infant’s life; and that no injurious effects, how¬ 
ever trivial, from the treatment adopted, have subsequently appeared. 

Mumps. —This disease, most common among children, begins with sore¬ 
ness and stiffness in the side of the neck. Soon a swelling of the parotid 
gland takes place, which is painful and continues to increase for four or five 
days, sometimes making it difficult to swallow, or open the mouth. The 
swelling sometimes comes on one side at a time, but commonly upon both. 
There is often heat and sometimes fever, with a dry skin, quick pulse, 
furred tongue, constipated bowels, and scanty and high-colored urine. The 
disease is contagious. 

Treatment .—Keep the lace and neck warm, and avoid taking cold. Drink 
warm herb teas, and if the symptoms are severe, four to six grains of 
Dover’s powder; or if there is costiveness, a slight physic, and observe a 
very simple diet. If the disease is aggravated by taking cold, and is very 
severe, or is translated to other glands, physic must be used freely, leeches 
applied to the swelling, or cooling poultices. Sweating must he resorted to 
in this case. 

To Ascertain the State of the Lungs.—Draw in as much breath as 
you conveniently can, then count as long as possible in a slow and audible 
voice without drawing in more breath. The number of seconds must be 
carefully noted. In a consumptive the time does not exceed ten, and is fre¬ 
quently less than six seconds; in pleurisy and pneumonia it ranges from 
nine to four seconds. When the lungs are sound the time will range as high 
as from twenty to thirty-five seconds. To expand the lungs, go into the air, 
stand erect, throw back the head and shoulders, and draw in the air 
through the nostrils as much as possible. After having then filled the 
lungs, raise your arms, still extended, and suck in the air. When you have 
thus forced the arms backward, with the chest open, change the process hv 
which you draw in your breath, till the lungs are emptied. Go through the 
process several times a day and it will enlarge the chest, give the lungs 
better play, and serve very much to ward off consumption. 

Hysterics. —This complaint is confined chiefly to females. A fit of 
hysterics is generally the result of some natural and immediate cause, and 


444 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 

until this is discovered and removed, the patient will always he subject to 
these fits. When a person is seized with a fit the dress should be loosened, 
fresh air admitted, cold water dashed in the face, and salts or singed 
feathers applied to the nostrils. It consciousness does not then return, a 
draught of sal-volatile and water should be given, and if the patient be still 
insensible, the temples and the nape of the neck should be rubbed with 
brandy. When hysterics can be traced to impaired natural action, equal por¬ 
tions of pennyroyal and wormwood should be steeped in boiling water, and 
suffered to simmer by the fire until the virtue of the herbs is extracted. It 
should then be allowed to cool, and half a pint be taken twice or thrice a 
day, succeeded on each occasion by a compound asafoetida pill, until the 
desired relief is afforded. 

Colic. —(1) For the violent internal agony termed colic, take a teaspoon¬ 
ful of salt in a pint of water; drink and go to bed. It is one of the speediest 
remedies known. It will revive a person who seems almost dead from a 
heavy fall. 

(2) Thares’s method of treating colic consists in inversion—simply in turn¬ 
ing the patient upside down. Colic of several days’ duration has been 
relieved by this means in a few minutes. 

(3) Dr. Tepliashiu has recommended a thin stream of cold water from a 
teapot lifted from one to one and a half feet from the abdomen, in cases of 
colic. He has seen it relieve pain when opium and morphia had failed. 

(4) A loaf of bread, hot from the oven, broken in two, and half of it 
placed upon the bowels, and the other half opposite it upon the back, will 
relieve colic from whatever cause almost immediately. 

Tlie Earliest Sign of Consumption. —A quick pulse and a short 

breath, continuing for weeks together, is the great alarm bell of forming 
consumption; if these symptoms are attended with a gradual falling off in 
flesh, in the course of vmnths, there is no rational ground for doubt, 
although the hack of a cough may never have been heard. Under such cir¬ 
cumstances, there ought not to be an hour’s delay in taking competent 
medical advice. 

The vast mass of consumptives die, not far from the ages of twenty-five; 
and this, in connection with another fact, that consumption is several years 
in running its course, suggests one of the most important practical conclu¬ 
sions yet announced, to wit: 

In the large majority of cases, the seeds of consumption are sown between 
the ages of sixteen and twenty-one years, when the steadily excited pulse 
and the easily accelerated breathing, may readily be detected by an intelli¬ 
gent and observant parent, and should be regarded as the knell of death, if 
not arrested, and yet it is easily, and uniformly done, for the spirometer will 
demonstrate the early danger, and the educated physician will be at no loss 
to mark out the remedy. 

The quick pulse and short breath go together; rather “ easily put out of 
breath,” is the more common and appropriate expression. 

Sciatica. —An English officer, who served with distinction in the war 
with Napoleon, was once laid up in a small village in France, with a severe 
attack of sciatica. It so happened that at that time, a tinman was being 
employed at the hotel where he lodged, and that this tinman, having been 
himself a soldier, took an interest in the officer’s case, and gave him the 
cure which in this instance succeeded immediately and forever, and which 



THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 445 

lam about to set clown. It is at any rate so simple as to be worth a trial* 
Take a moderate size potato, rather large than small, and boil it in one 
quart ol water. Foment the part affected with the water in which the potato 
has been boiled as hot as it can be borne at night before going to bed* then 
crush the potato and put it on the affected part as a poultice. Wear this all 
night and in the morning heat the water, which should have been preserved 
over again, and again foment the part with it as hot as can be borne. This 
treatment must be persevered with for several days. It occasionally re¬ 
quires to be continued for as much as two or three weeks, but in the shorter 
or longer time it has never yet failed to be successful. 

Bilionmes*—If the victims of this diseased condition will exercise due 
care, they need not ransack creation for “ anti-bilious pills.” The bile does 
not belong in the stomach, but reaches there in consequence of improper 
food, too much of the oily, as butter, pork, lard, etc. The bile is nature’s 
grand cathartic medicine, passing from the liver in a direction to indicate 
that it is to pass on into the bowels, there to perform its important mission. 
When the liver is overtaxed by too much labor, or by the presence of too 
much greasy food, digestion is impaired and the whole system becomes out 
of order. 

If one would avoid biliousness, let him fast, passing over one or more 
meals. As soon as the “mouth tastes bad,” the tongue is coated, the appe¬ 
tite flags- the best possible evidence that too much food has been taken_ 

thus allowing nature to rally, the accumulated food to pass off, and the sys¬ 
tem be relieved. In nine cases out of ten, this fasting will remove the diffi¬ 
culty, save a fit of sickness, and cheat the doctor. Any quack nostrum that 
will do as much as fasting, would yield a fortune to the inventor. Many 
of them, however, if not most, increase disease, rather than improve 
health. 

Hints About Glasses. —Persons finding their eyes becoming dry and 
itching on reading, as well as those who find it necessary to place an object 
nearer than fourteen inches from their faces to read, need spectacles. Per¬ 
sons under forty years of age should not wear glasses until the accommo¬ 
dating power of the eves has been suspended and the exact state of refrac¬ 
tion determined by a competent ophthalmic surgeon. The spectacle glasses 
sold by peddlers and by jewelers generally are hurtful to the eyes of those 
who read much, as the lenses are made of inferior sheet glass and not sym¬ 
metrically ground. No matter how perfectly the lenses may be made, un¬ 
less they are mounted in a suitable frame and properly placed before the 
eye, discomfort will arise from their prolonged use. 

Persons holding objects too near the face endanger the safety of their 
eyes, and incur the risk of becoming near sighted. 

The near sighted eye is an unsound eye, and should be fully corrected 
with a glass, notwithstanding the fact it may need no aid for reading. The 
proper time to begin wearing glasses is just as soon as the eyes tire on being 
subjected to prolonged use. 

Nettle Rash. —This disease takes its name from its being attended by 
an eruption similar to what is produced by the stinging of nettles. The 
causes of this complaint are by no means obvious; but it seems to proceed 
either from the perspiration being checked, or from some irritating matter 
in the stomach. In all cases there prevails considerable itching and some 
heat in the parts affected; and in some constitutions a slight degree of fever 


446 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


either precedes or attends the eruption. Its duration seldom exceeds three 
or four days. 

In some cases nettle rash is accompanied with large wheals or bumps, 
which appear of a solid nature, without any cavity or head, containing either 
water or other fluid. 

Haifa teaspoonful of magnesia, and the same quantity of cream of tartar 
mixed in half a teacupful of milk, an hour before breakfast, and repeated as 
required, will be found very efficacious. 

Coffee and Typhoid. Fever.—Dr. Guillasse, of the French navy, in a 
recent paper on typhoid fever, speaks of the great benefit which has been 
derived from the use of coffee. He has found that no sooner have the pa¬ 
tients taken a few tablespoonfuls of it than their features become relaxed 
and they come to their senses; next day the improvement is such as to 
leave no doubt that the article is just the specific needed. Under its in¬ 
fluence the stupor is dispelled and the patient rouses from the state of som¬ 
nolency in which he has been since the invasion of the disease; soon, all the 
functions take their natural course, and he enters upon convalescence. Dr. 
Guillasse gives to an adult two or three tablespoonfuls of strong black coffee 
every two or three hours, alternated with one or two teaspoonfuls of claret 
or Burgundy wine—a little lemonade or citrate of magnesia to be taken 
daily; after a while quinine. 

Ingrowing Toe Nails— As this is a very painful malady, it may be 
worth a great deal to some of our readers to know that the trouble 
is not with the nail, but with the flesh, which gets pushed upon it, thereby 
becoming inflamed, and the inflammation and swelling are kept up by the 
presenco of the nail, which then acts as a foreign body. To cure it, take the 
neighboring toe—which, by the way, is really the offender—and with it press 
the swollen flesh down and away from the nail, then bind the two firmly to¬ 
gether with adhesive strips, which may be had at any drug store. If the 
strips get loose, and the flesh slips up on the nail again, readjust the toes 
and put on fresh plaster until the flesh rehabituates itself to its former place. 

Abscess. —In some particulars an abscess resembles a large boil. There 
is an inflammatory condition, with heat, pain, and swelling. The result of 
this inflammation is the discharge of degenerated matter or pus. They may 
be opened as soon as pulsation is detected, the same as boils, or the opera¬ 
tion may be delayed until by using hot water compresses, flax seed poultice, 
bread and hot milk poultice, they come to a point or head. The matter or 
pus should be completely discharged by gentle pressure, and the cavity 
freely washed out by injecting a mixture of one part carbolic acid and twenty 
of warm water, and pressure exerted by a bandage, when healing will rap¬ 
idly take place. 

Blistered Hands or Feet —When the hands are blistered from rowing 
or the feet from walking or other causes, be careful not to allow the blisters 
to break, if possible. Some persons are in the habit, by means of a needle 
and piece of worsted, of placing a seton into blisters to draw off the water; 
but in our opinion this is a great mistake and retards the healing. Bathe 
the blisters frequently in warm water, or if they are very severe, make a 
salve of tallow, dropped from a lighted candle into a little gin and worked 
up to a proper consistence, and on going to bed cover the blisters with this 
salve and place a piece of clean soft rag over them. 



4i7 


THE H0 ME E H YSICIA N. 

Stammering. —No stammering person ever found any difficulty in sing¬ 
ing. The reason of this^is, that by observing the measure of the music—by 
keeping time—the organs of speech are kept in such position that enuncia¬ 
tion is easy. Apply the same rule to reading or speech, and the same result 
will follow. Let the stammerer take a sentence, say this one—“ Leander 
swam the Hellespont,' and pronounce it by syllables, scan it, keeping time 
with his finger it necessary, letting each syllable occupy the same time, 
thus, Le-an-der-swam-the-Hel-les-pont, and he will not stammer. Pro¬ 
nounce slowly at first, then faster, but still keeping time; keeping time with 
words instead of syllables. Practice this in reading and conversation until 
the habit is broken up. Perseverance and attention is all that is necessary 
to perform a perfect cure. 

Hemorrhage.—(1) Hemorrhage of the lungs can be instantly cured by 
throwing into the mouth of the patient, from a vial, one or two teaspoonfufs 
of chloroform, according to the severeness of the attack. It will give instant 
relief to the greatest suffering, and stop the most severe case of bleeding of 
the lungs. 

(2) To stop hemorrhage of the lungs, cord the thighs, and arms 
above the elbow, with small, strong cords tightly drawn and tied. It will 
stop the flow of blood almost instantly, as it has done for the writer many 
times. It was recommended by a physician of experience. 

(3) Spitting or vomiting of blood may be stopped by sage juice mixed 
with a little honey. Take three teaspoonfuls, and repeat, if necessary, in 
about fifteen minutes. 

(4) Hemorrhages of the lungs or stomach are promptly checked by small 
doses of salt. The patient should be kept as quiet as possible. 

Asthma.—(1) The asthma, writes a correspondent, may be relieved, if 
not cured, by the following treatment: “ Buy of the druggist five cents’ 
worth of saltpeter, and get also a sheet or two of grayish paper, which drug¬ 
gists have, thick like the common brown paper. Dissolve the saltpeter in 
half a pint of rain water, and saturate strips of the paper in the water, and 
dry it in pans or on plates. Now roll them up like lamp lighters. When a 
paroxysm comes on, light one and inhale the fumes. If necessary throw a 
cloth or shawl over the head. If the saltpeter is very strong it may fuse a 
little. If the paper described cannot be got, brown paper may be used in¬ 
stead, but the smoke of the former is purer.” 

(2) The following mixture is recommended as a relief for the asthmatic: 
Two ounces of the best honey, and one ounce of castor oil mixed. A tea- 
spoonful to be taken night and morning. I have tried the foregoing with 
the best effect. 

Hydrophobia._(1) Elecampane is a plant well known to most persons, 
and is to be found in many of our gardens. Immediately after being bitten, 
take one ounce of the root of the plant, the green root is perhaps preferable, 
but the dried will answer, and may be found in our drug stores, slice ox- 
bruise, put in a pint of fresh milk, boil down to half a pint, strain, and when 
cold drink it, fasting at least six houi'S afterward. The next morning repeat 
the dose pi-epax-ed as the last, and this will be sufficient. It is recommended 
that after each dose nothing bo eaten for at least six hours. 

(2) The following is said to be a cure for hydrophobia: Take two table- 
spoonfuls of fresh chloride of lime, mix it with one-half pint of water, and 
with this wash keep the wound constantly bathed and frequently renewed. 


448 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


The chloride gas possesses the power of decomposing the tremendous 
poison, and renders mild and harmless that venom against whose resistless 
attack the artillery of medical science lias been so long directed in vain. It 
is necessary to add that this wash must be applied as soon as possible. 

Scrofula. —(l) Yellow dock root has proved very useful in scrofula. It 
is given in powder or decoction. Two ounces of the fresh root bruised, cl¬ 
one ounce of the dried, may be boiled in a pint of water, of which two fluid 
ounces may be given at a dose, and repeated as the stomach will bear. The 
root has also been applied externally in the shape of ointment, cataplasm, 
and decoction, to the cutaneous eruptions and ulcerations for which it has 
been used internally. The powdered root is also recommended as a denti¬ 
frice, especially when the gums are spongy. There is no doubt that in a 
great many cases the disease is inherited; some contend that it is so in all 
cases. It shows itself in various forms—as liip-disease, white swelling, 
rickets, salt rlieum, etc. Persons affected by it are subject to swelling of 
the glands, particularly those of the neck. 

(2) A tea made of ripe, dried whortleberries, and drank in place of 
water, is a sure and speedy cure for scrofula difficulties, however bad. 

Sickness of Stomach.—(1) The following drink for relieving sickness 
of the stomach was introduced by Dr. Halahan, and is said to be very 
palatable and agreeable: “ Beat up one egg very well, say for twenty min¬ 
utes; then add fresh milk, one pint; water, one pint; sugar, to make it 
palatable; boil, and let it cool; drink when cold. If it becomes curds and 
whey it is useless. 

(2) Salts of tartar, thirty grains; oil of mint, six drops; powdered gum 
arabic, eighth of an ounce: powdered loaf sugar, eighth of an ounce; water, 
six ounces. A tablespoonful of this mixture is a dose. 

(3) Sickness of the stomach is most promptly relieved by drinking a tea¬ 
cupful of hot soda and water. If it brings all the offending matter up all 
the better. 

Bronchitis.—(1) Get from the druggist’s a little good wood creosote. 
Put two drops of it into a bottle holding a pint or so. Pour in a little more 
than half a pint of clear water, and shake it well; shake well always before 
using it. Take a mouthful of this, throw the head back, gargle it some time 
in the throat, and then swallow it. Repeat this every two hours, more or 
less, so as to use up the liquid within twenty-four hours. For each subse¬ 
quent twenty-four hours, use three drops of the creosote in three to four 
gills of water. This three drops a day may be continued as long as any 
bronchitis appears. Two to four days is usually enough, though it may be 
continued indefinitely without harm. 

(2) A simple, but oftentimes efficacious remedy, is this. It may afford 
relief: Syrup of tolu, one ounce; syrup of squills, half an ounce; wine of 
ipecac, two drachms; paregoric, three drachms; mucilage of gum arabic, 
one and a half ounces. Mix. Take a teasooonful three times a day. 

(3) A simple recipe, which affords relief in ordinary cases of bronchitis, 
is to occasionally suck a small piece of common saltpetre as you would 
candy, and swallow the juice. If the case be severe, medical advice should 
be had without delay. 

Lockjaw.—(1) If any person is threatened or taken with lockjaw from 
^juries of the arms, legs or feet, do not wait for a doctor, but put the part 



449 


THE HOME PHYSIC I AH. 

injured in the following preparation: Put hot wood ashes into water as 
warm as can be borne; if the injured part cannot be put into water, then wet 
thick folded cloths in the water and apply them to the part as soon as possi¬ 
ble, and at the same time bathe the backbone from the neck down with some 
laxative stimulant—say cayenne pepper and water, or mustard and water 
(good vinegar is better than water); it should be as hot as the patient can 
bear it. Don’t hesitate; go to work and do it, and don’t stop until the jaws 
will come open. No person need die of lockjaw if these directions are 
followed. 

(2) The following is said to be a positive cure: Let any one who has an 
attack of the lockjaw take a small quantity of spirits of turpentine, warm it 
and pour it on the wound, no matter where the wound is or what is its 
nature. Relief will follow in less than one minute. Turpentine is also a 
sovereign remedy for croup. Saturate a piece of flannel with it and place on 
to the throat, chest, and, in severe cases, three to five drops, on a lump of 
sugar may be taken internally. 

Erysipelas. —(l) We have found sour milk, buttermilk, or whey there' 
from, an excellent remedy to apply for the erysipelas as a wash. Also to 
apply glycerine twice or three times a day; it has a soothing effect. We 
have many times applied the milk hot, and found it allayed the inflamma¬ 
tion better than cold applications, and far less troublesome than poultices. 

(2) Erysipelas is of two kinds—one affecting principally the skin, the 
other the whole system. In mild cases, affecting the skin only, lemonade 
made from the fresh fruit helps the patient very much, being, in addition, 
very grateful to the palate. 

(3) As a local application, slippery elm has been found efficacious. Make 
a mucilage of it, and apply it warm on cloths to the face. Sometimes com¬ 
mon flour, dustod on the inflamed parts, will afford relief. 

(4) One pint of sweet milk and a handful of pokeberry roots. This is a 
sure cure. 

(5) Make a poultice of cranberries, and apply to the face. 

Hoarseness.—(1) Horseradish will afford instantaneous relief in most 
obstinate cases of hoarseness. The root, of course, possesses the most 
virtue, though the leaves are good till they dry, when they lose their 
strength. The root is best when it is green. The person who will use it 
freely just before beginning to speak, will not be troubled with hoarseness. 
Boiled down and sweetened into a thick syrup, will give relief in the severest 
cases. 

(2) Take a small quantity of dry, powdered borax, place it on the 
tongue, let it slowly dissolve and run down the throat. It is also good to 
keep the throat moist at night and prevent coughing. 

(3) Hoarseness and tickling in the throat are best relieved by the gargle 
of the white of an egg beaten to a froth in half a glass of warmed, sweetened 
water. 

Cliills ami Fever.— (1) One-half ounce spirits nitre, one-half ounce 
tincture pepper, thirty-five grains quinine, one pint of brandy. Take a wine- 
glassful three times a day, one-half hour before meals. If for a child, give 
only half the quantity. 

(2) If you have chills and fever, express the juice of three large lemons 
and drink it down. Continue so to do every other day until the disease is 
broken. We have known this treatment to cure when quinine had no effect. 





450 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


(3) The following is said to be a remedy for fever and ague: Twenty-four 
grains of quinine, two drachms of elixir of vitriol, twenty-two large 
tablespoonfuls of rain water. Dose, take each half hour through the day 
until taken up. 

(4) Dissolve fifteen grains of citric acid in a cup of hot coffee, and drink 
it just before the chill attacks you. It has been known to cure the worst 
cases of this disease. 

Dropsy.—(1) Take one pint of bruised mustard seed, two handfuls of 
bruised horseradish root, eight ounces of lignum vitae chips, and four ounces 
of bruised Indian hemp root. Put all the ingredients in seven quarts of 
cider, and let it simmer over a slow fire until it is reduced to four quarts. 
Strain the decoction, and take a wineglassful four times a day for a few days, 
increasing the dose to a small teacupful three times a day. After which use 
tonic medicines. This remedy has cured cases ol dropsy in one week’s time 
which has baffled the skill of many eminent physicians. For children the 
dose should be smaller. 

(2) The ingredients are: Acetate of squills, one ounce; nitrate of potash, 
sixty grains; water, five ounces. Dose: A tablespoonful every two hours. 

(3) It is said that a tea made of’chestnut leaves, and drank in the place 
of water, will cure the most obstinate case of dropsy in a few days. 

Bunions.—( 1 ) Let fall a stream of very warm water from a teakettle, at 
the highest elevation from which the patient can bear the water to fall di¬ 
rectly on the apex of the swelling; continue this once a day for a short time 
and a cure will be effected, providing you desist from wearing short shoes. 
The greater the elevation of the kettle, the more effectual the remedy. 

(2) It is said that the following is a good bunion remedy: Use pulverized 
saltpetre and sweet oil; obtain at the druggist’s five or six cents’ worth of 
saltpetre, put into a .bottle with sufficient olive oil to nearly dissolve it; 
shake up well, and rub the inflamed joints night and morning, and more 
frequently if painful. This is a well-tried remedy. 

(3) When the bunion is painful, put three or four leeches on the joint of 
the toe, and do not disturb them till they drop off; then bathe the bunions 
twice a day in fresh cream, and afterward renounce tight boots. Of course 
this remedy will not remove the swelling of the bone. 

Fits.—(1) When these are brought on by indigestion, place the child in a 
warm bath immediately, give warm water, or a lobelia emetic, rub the skin 
briskly, etc., to get up an action. In brain disease the warm water is equally 
useful. In fact, unless the fit is constitutional, the warm bath will relieve 
the patient by drawing the blood to the surface. 

(2) Fits can be instantly cured by throwing a spoonful of fine salt as far 
back into the mouth of the patient as possible, just as the fit comes on. 

Dandruff. —(l) A preparation of one ounce of sulphur and one quart of 
water, repeatedly agitated during intervals of a few hours, and the head 
saturated every morning with the clear liquid, will, in a few weeks, remove 
every trace of dandruff from the scalp, and the hair will soon become soft 
and glossy. 

(2) There is no simpler or better remedy for this a egetatious appearance 
(caused by dryness of the skin) than a wash of camphor and borax—an 
ounce of each put into a pint and a half of cold water; and afterward rub a 
little pure oil into the scalp. 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 


451 


Scurf— A lump of fresh quicklime the size of a walnut, dropped into a 
pint of water and allowed to stand all night, the water being then poured off 
from the sediment and mixed with a quarter of a pint of the best vinegar, 
forms the best wash for scurf in the head. It is to be applied to the roots of 
the hair. 

(2) Half a pint of rose-water, and one ounce of spirits of wine mixed to¬ 
gether. Part the hair as much as possible, and apply the mixture with a 
piece of flannel. 

Quinsy.—(1) Our cure is tar spread on the throat and quite up under 
the ears. Cover with a cloth and go to sleep and wake up well. Only a 
brown stain will remain; it is easily washed off with castile soap. It is a 
sure relief. It is our opinion that in cases of incipient scarlet fever or diph¬ 
theria this is the remedy. It looks reasonable if it brings sure relief in 
quinsy, which it does. 

(2) A teacupful of red sage leaves to one quart of water, boil ten min¬ 
utes, add four tablespoonfuls of vinegar, and sweeten with honey. In th6 
first stage of the disease, it might be used as a gargle, and then to rinse the 
mouth; it should be used warm. It will be found invaluable. 

To Prevent Hydrophobia —(1) The bites of mad dogs have been ren¬ 
dered harmless by immediately cauterizing the wound with a saturated so¬ 
lution of carbolic acid, and keeping it constantly wet with a weaker solution 
of the same, at the same time giving the patient, according to age, from two 
to six drops of the spirits of ammonia in water, every two hours for twelve 
or fourteen hours. The wound is not allowed to dry for an instant for three 
or four days. 

(2) Take immediately warm vinegar, or tepid water, and wash the wound 
very clean; then dry it, and pour upon the wound a few drops of muriatic 
acid. Mineral acids destroy the poison of the saliva,,and its evil effect is 
neutralized. 

Heartburn. —(1) Relief will be obtained by using the following mixture, 
which has been much recommended: Juice of one orange, water, and lump 
sugar to flavor; and in proportion to the acidity of the orange, about half a 
teaspoonful of bi-carbonato of soda. Dissolve the sugar in the water, add 
the orange-juice, then put in the soda. Stir, and drink while effervescing. 

(2) A small piece of chalk put in a pitcher of water, without imparting 
any taste whatever to the same, will exercise a corrective effect upon the 
stomachs of those who are troubled ivith acidity or heartburn, as it is 
called. 

Inflammatory Rheumatism—(1) Sulphur and saltpeter, of each one 
ounce; gum guaiacum, one-fourth ounce; colchicum root, or seed, and nut¬ 
megs, of each one-fourth ounce; all to be pulverized and mixed with sim¬ 
ple syrup, or molasses, two ounces. Dose: One teaspoonful every two 
hours until it moves the bowels rather freely; then three or four times da-ily 
until cured. 

(2) Half an ounce of pulverized saltpetre put in a half a pint of sweet oil; 
bathe the parts affected, and a sound cure will speedily be effected. 

Stye on the Eyelid.—(1) Put a teaspoonful of tea in a small bag; pour 
on it just enough boiling water to moisten it; then put it on the eye pretty 
warm. Keep it on all night, and in the morning the stye will most likely be 
gone; if not, a second application is sure to remove it. 






452 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 

(2) Ice will check at first; if they do not suppurate quickly, apply warm 
poultices of bread and milk; prick them and apply citrine ointment. 

(3) Dip a feather in the white of an egg, and pass it along the edge of the 

eyelids. 

To Purify t lie Blood —(1) A well-known physician says that he con¬ 
siders the following prescription for purifying the blood as the best he has 
ever used: Qne ounce yellow dock, one-half ounce horseiadisli, one quait 
hard cider. Dose, one wineglassful four times a day. 

(2) Mix half an ounce sulphate of magnesia with one pint water. Dose, 
a wineglassful three times a day. This oan be used in the place of iron 
tonic, or in connection with it. 

For Liver Complaint.—(1) Twenty grains of extract of dandelion, di¬ 
vided into four pills, and to be taken four times a day; it acts on the liver, 
and is also a tonic for debilitated persons. 

(2) A cup of fresh buttermilk every day is said to be a cure for liver 

complaint. 

Cramps—A correspondent gives the following directions for the relief of 
cramps: When the cramp is in the calf of the leg, draw up the foot 
strongly toward the shin bone, and in a few seconds the cramp will disap¬ 
pear. When they are in the thighs or arms, tie a towel, cord, or handker¬ 
chief around the limb, just above the cramped part, and then rub this part 
with the naked hand alone, or using some stimulating liniment like spirits 
of camphor or red-peppered whiskey. The preparation may also be rubbed 
upon the neck w T hen cramps attack this part. Cramps in the stomach may 
be checked by first strongly rubbing and kneading over the stomach, and 
then rubbing upon and around the pit of the stomach a mixture of equal 
parts of sweet oil or linseed oil, essence of peppermint, laudanum, and 
spirits of camphor. 

Petroleum In Pulmonary Diseases. —A partial investigation lias been 
made of the alleged utility of this article in affections of the chest. The pe¬ 
troleum of Pennsylvania and Virginia was first experimented upon—a very 
safe substance, for even considerable quantities, ivhen swallowed by error, 
have caused only a little nausea. It is found that in chronic bronchitis, 
w r ith abundant expectoration, it rapidly diminishes the amount of secretion 
and the paroxysms of coughing, and in simple bronchitis rapid amelioration 
has been obtained. Its employment in phthisis has been continued for too 
short a time, as yet, to allow 7 of any judgment being formed as to its 
efficiency, beyond that it diminishes the expectoration, which also loses its 
purulent character. The petroleum is customarily taken in doses of a tea¬ 
spoonful before each meal, and, after the first day, any nausea which it may 
excite in some persons disappears. 

Corpulence. —For those people whose fleshiness is a matter of solicitude, 
w T hether because it is uncomfortable or unfashionable, the foliow r ing diet is 
proposed by Dr. George Johnson: May eat—Lean mutton and beef, veal and 
lamb, soups not thickened, beef tea and broth; poultry, game, fish, and 
eggs; bread in moderation, greens, cresses, lettuce, etc., green peas, cab¬ 
bage, cauliflower, onions; fresh fruit without sugar. May not eat—Fat 
meat, bacon or ham, butter, cream, sugar, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, rice, 
eago, tapioca, macaroni, custard, pastry and puddings, sweet cakes. May 


453 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 

drink—Tea, Coffee, cocoa from nibs, with milk, but no sugar; dry wines in 
moderation without sugar; light bitter beer, soda and seltzer water. May 
not drink—Milk, except sparingly; porter and stout, sweet ales, sweet wines. 

As a rule, alcoholic liquors should be taken sparingly, and never without 
food. 

Salt ill Intermittent Fever —Take a handful of table salt and roast 
in a clean oven with moderate heat till it is brown- the color of roasted cof¬ 
fee. Dose for an adult, a soupspoonful dissolved in a glass of warm water; 
take at once. When the fever appears at intervals of two, three, or four 
days, the remedy should' be taken fasting on the morning of the day follow¬ 
ing the fever. To overcome the thirst, a very little water should be taken 
through a straw. During the forty-eight hours which follow the taking of 
the salt, the appetite should be satisfied with chicken and beef broth only; 
it is especially necessary to observe a severe diet and avoid taking cold. 
The remedy is very simple and harmless, and has never been known to fail 
where it has been given trial. 

Colic in Infants. —Infants are very subject to colic from overfeeding, 
too early feeding, constipation, and many other causes. They often suffer 
terribly from these pains, tossing about, drawing up their legs, and scream¬ 
ing vehemently. P'eatment .—When it arises from eostiveness, a teaspoon¬ 
ful or tablespoonful of castor oil will often remove the defect, and at or 
about the same time give three drops of essence of peppermint or spearmint, 
in a little sweetened water. A very little saleratus often gives relief, and 
paregoric in two to five-drop doses every hour, will give relief. Hot flannels 
applied over the bowels and stomach are useful, and often the infant can be 
greatly relieved by laying it upon the belly on the knee, trotting it and gen¬ 
tly tapping its back; this must be done cautiously, for if unsuccessful it * 
might increase the pains. 

How People Get Sick— Eating too much and too fast; swallowing im¬ 
perfectly masticated food; using too much fluid at meals; drinking poison¬ 
ous whiskey and other intoxicating drinks; repeatedly using poison as 
medicines; keeping late hours at night, and sleeping late in the morning; 
wearing clothing too tight; wearing thin shoes; neglecting to wash the body 
sufficiently to keep the pores open; exchanging the warm clothes worn in a 
warm rOom during the day for costumes and exposure incident to evening 
parties; compressing the stomach to gratify a vain and foolish passion for 
dress; keeping up constant excitement; fretting the mind with borrowed 
troubles; swallowing quack nostrums for every imaginary ill; taking meals 
at irregular intervals, etc. 

Taking Cold. —When a person begins to shiver, the blood is receding 
from the surface; congestion, to a greater or less extent has taken place, 
and the patient lias ali*eady taken cold, to be followed by fever, inflamma¬ 
tion of the lungs, neuralgia, rheumatism, etc. All these evils can be avoid¬ 
ed and the cold expelled by walking, or in some exei’cise that will produce 
a pi’ompt arid decided reaction in the system. The exercise should be suffi¬ 
cient to produce perspiration. If you are so situated that you can get a 
glass of hot water to di'ink, it will materially aid the perspiration, and in 
every way assist nature in her efforts to remove the cold. This course fol¬ 
lowed, your cold is at an end, and whatever disease it would ultimate in is 
avoided, your sufferings are px-ovented and your doctor’s bills sayed. 










454 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Relief for tlie Feet. —Every woman who is obliged to stand at the iron¬ 
ing table for hours during July and August, linds that her leet are prolific 
sources of suffering. Even if she is wise enough to wear thick soled shoes, 
she will find her lot a hard one. One little thing can be done to relieve her 
sowewhat. Take an old comforter, or part of one, fold it in just as many 
thicknesses as is possible to make it soft, and yet perfectly easy to stand on. 
Her feet will be cooler, and w hen she is through with her work she will not 
have the stinging and burning sensation u r hich is as hard to bear as pain is. 

It is a good plan to have a good supply of holders, so that she can change 
them often. 

Sunstroke. —As soon as you reach your patient take hold of him or her 
and carry or drag him or her into the shade. Place the body in a sitting 
posture, the back against a wall, with the feet and legs resting upon the 
sidewalk and extending in front of the body. Get ice w^ater and a bottle of 
some strong essence of ginger. Pour the ice w r ater over the head, copiously; 
never mind the clothes. Then pour tw r o or three tablespoonfuls of ginger 
in about half a tumbler of water, and make Hie patient swallow r it quickly. 
Keep the head cool by using a little of the ice water, and in case there is not 
much of a glow on the body give more ginger. If this recipe is promptly 
used and fully carried out in every case the Board of Health will never have 
a death to record from this cause. It is no experiment or quack remedy. It 
costs but a few cents and a half-hour or an hour’s time. Ginger is by far 
the best to use, and where it cannot be had quickly two or three good drinks 
of brandy will answer. 

Knock-Knees. —A correspondent says: “ I commenced the practice of 
placing a small book between my knees, and tying a handkerchief tight 
round my ankles. This I did two or three times a day, increasing the sub¬ 
stance at every fresh trial, until I could hold a brick with ease breadth¬ 
ways. When I first commenced this practice I w r as as badly knock-kneed as 
possible; but now I am as straight as any one. I likewise made it a practice 
of lying on my back in bed, with my legs crossed and my knees fixed tightly 
together. This, I believe, did me a great deal of good.” 

Indigestion. —I have been troubled for years with indigestion, sick 
headache, and constipation, writes a lady, and have been greatly helped by 
dropping all remedies and drinking a coffeecupful of as warm w T ater as can 
be drank comfortably, the first thing on rising and just before retiring, al¬ 
ways on an empty stomach. It will cause an unpleasant feeling at first, but 
persevere and you will be surprised at the benefit received. If the kidneys 
are at fault, drink water blood warm. 

.Jaundice —Red iodide of mercury, seven grains; iodide of potassium, 
nine grains; distilled water, one ounce; mix. Commence by giving six 
drops three or four times a day, increasing one drop a day until twelve or 
fifteen drops are given at a dose. Give in a little water, immediately after 
meals. If it causes a griping sensation in the bowels, and fullness in the 
head, Avhen you get up to twelve or fifteen drops, go back to six drops, and 
up again as before. 

Gout —Take hot vinegar, and put into it all the table salt which it wfill 
dissolve, and bathe the parts affected with a soft piece of flannel. Rub in 
with the hand and dry the foot, etc., by the fire. Repeat this operation four 


455 


THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 

times in twenty-four hours, fifteen minutes each time, for four days; then 
twice a day for the same period; then once, and follow this rule whenever 
the symptoms show themselves at any future time. 

Sore Nipples. —Pour boiling water on nutgalls (oak bark if galls cannot 
be obtained), and when cold, strain it oft', and bathe the parts with it,or dip 
the cloth in the tea, and apply it; or twenty grains of tannin may be dis¬ 
solved in an ounce ot water, and applied. The application of a few drops of 
collodion to the raw surface is highly recommended. It forms, when dry, a 
perfect coating over the diseased surface. 

Preventive of Seasickness. —The following remedy, preventive of sea¬ 
sickness, is recommended by Prof. E. Tourgee, of Boston, manager of toui'ist 
excursions. It was tried by himself and family, five in all, who had suffered 
from sea-sickness on every former voyage across the Atlantic, and in each 
case it proved entirely successful, and produced no unfavorable results. 
Dissolve one ounce of bromide of sodium in four ounces of water. Take one 
teaspoonful three times a day before eating. Begin taking the above three 
days before starting on the ocean voyage. 

Prickly Heat. —Prickly heat is a very common and troublesome disease. 
The most effectual treatment for it that we know of is a powder composed of 
one part of oxide of zinc, three parts of oxide of magnesia, and sixteen parts . 
of sublimate of sulphur. Place the powder on a plate and press a damp 
sponge on it. Rub the body with the sponge, to which the particles of pow¬ 
der have adhered, and continue the application for fifteen minutes, then 
wash the parts clean of the adhering particles. Repeat twice or three times 
every twenty-four hours. 

Ulcers. —Here is a receipt that will cure any sore on man or beast that 
has ulcerated. Take two and one-half drachms blue stone, four drachms 
alum, six drachms loaf sugar, one drachm sugar of lead, one tablespoonful 
honey. Put all into a bottle, put in one pint of vinegar, shake it three or 
four times a day, until they are dissolved, and it is ready for use. Pour 
some of it out and add water when you first apply to any sore, as it makes it 
smart at the first application; apply three times a day. 

Nursing Children. —Mothers who nurse their children should bear in 
mind that what they eat at such a time is of great importance, both to them¬ 
selves and to the children. The very best article of food that they can avail 
themselves of is oatmeal mush or gruel, which is always delicious when 
properly cooked. The oatmeal furnishes the earthy phosphates and ma¬ 
terials out of which good milk is made, so that the mother’s own structures 
are not drawn upon, and her teeth are saved from decay. 

Anodyne for Painful Menstruation— Extract of stramonium and 
sulphate of quinine, each sixteen grains; macrotin, eight grains; morcrotin, 
eight grains; morphine, one grain; make into eight pills. Dose, one pill, 
repeating once or twice only, forty or fifty minutes apart, if the pain does 
not subside before this time. Pain must subside under the use of this pill, 
and costiveness is not increased. 

To Prevent Contagion. —Impregnation of the atmosphere of a sick 
chamber when the patient is ill of diphtheria, measles, scarlet fever, or of 
any allied disease, with the odor of a mixture of equal parts of turpentine 


456 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


and carbolic acid, is recommended by a celebrated physician. Half a tea¬ 
spoonful of mixture will be enough at a time, if it is put into a kettle of water 
kept near the boiling point. The odor gives some relief to the sufferer, and 
and tends to prevent the spread of the malady. 

Salt Rheum. —Take half a pound of swamp sassafras-bark and boil it, 
in enough fresh water to cover it, for the space of half an hour. Take off 
the water, and thoroughly wash the part affected. Add hog’s lard to some 
of the water, and simmer it over a moderate fire until the water is evapo¬ 
rated; anoint the part affected, continuing the washing and anointing four 
days. A cure is generally certain. 

Simple Disinfectant. —The following is a refreshing disinfectant for a 
sick-room, or any room that has an rinpleasant aroma pervading it: Put 
some fresh ground coffee in a saucer, and in the center place a small piece 
of camphor gum, which light with a match. As the gum burns allow suffi¬ 
cient coffee to consume with it. The perfume is very pleasant and healthful 
—being far superior to pastiles and very much cheaper. 

To Protect tine Lungs from Dust— In farm labor one has often to en¬ 
counter a hurtful amount of dust. A simple and cheap protection from such 
an annoyance is to get a piece of sponge large enough to cover the nostrils 
and mouth, hollow it out on one side with a pair of scissors, to fit the face, 
attach a string to each side and tie it on. First wet it well, and squeeze out 
most of the water. Repeat this whenever the sponge becomes dry. All the 
dust will be caught in the damp cavities, and it is easily washed out. 

Fainting—Fainting is caused by the blood leaving the brain. Place 
the patient flat and allow the head to be lower than the body. Sprinkle cold 
water on the face. Hartshorn may be held near the nose, not to it. A half 
teaspoonful of aromatic spirits of ammonia, in a wineglassful of water, will 
tend to revive the patient. If the symptoms recur, send for a physician. 

Bee Stings— Take a pinch in the fiuger3 of common salt, put on the 
place stung and dissolve with water, rub with the finger. If not relieved in 
one minute wet the place with aqua ammonia. Care should be taken not to 
get the ammonia into the eye. I have used this remedy for several years 
and it has never failed with me. It has always arrested the poison and pre¬ 
vented swelling. 

Cramp in Die Leg —A garter applied tightly round the limb affected 
will, in most cases, speedily remove the complaint. When it is more obsti- 
n£t£e, a brick should be heated, wrapped in a flannel bag, and placed at the 
foot of the bed, against which the person troubled may place his feet. No 
remedy, however, is equal to that of diligent and long-continued friction. 

Boils. —These should be brought to a head by warm poultices of camo¬ 
mile flowers, or boiled white lily root, or onion root by fermentation with 
hot water, or by stimulating plasters. When ripe they should be destroyed 
by a needle or lancet; but this should not be attempted until they are fullv 
proved. 

Pulmonary Complaints— When an effusion of blood from the lungs 
takes place, a prompt and infallible resource might readily be provided so ! 
as to meet the occasion with a safe and decided effect. From twenty to 
thirty-five drops of the spirits of turpentine in a glass of water will produce 









THE HOME PHYSICIAN. 45 1 

an instantaneous collapse of the mouth of the blood vessel. It is also asserted 
that, in the above case, a tumblerful of strong gin-toddy, or gin and water 
will have the same effeet. 

Tobacco Antidote —Buy two ounces or more of gentian root, coarsely 
ground. Take as much of it after each meal, or oftener, as amounts to a 
common quid of “ fine-cut.” Chew it slowly and swallow the juice. Con¬ 
tinue this a few weeks, and you will conquer the insatiable appetite for to¬ 
bacco, which injures both mind and body, and from which thousands strug¬ 
gle to be free, but give up in despair. 

lee for Teething Children —The pain of teething may be almost done 
away, and the health of the child benefited by giving it fine splinters of ice, 
picked off with a pin, to melt in its mouth. The instant quiet which suc¬ 
ceeds hours of fretfulness is the best witness to this magic remedy. 

• 

Odor from Perspiration. —The unpleasant odor produced by perspira¬ 
tion is frequently the source of vexation to persons who are subject to it. 
Nothing is simpler than to remove this odor. Put two tablespoonfuls of 
spirits of ammonia (hartshorn) in a basin of wwter, and wash. This leaves 
the skin clean and fresh. The wash is perfectly harmless and very cheap. 

Swelled Feet and Ankles. —Take plantain leaves (which can be found 
in almost any grass-plot, and in our public parks); wilt them by putting 
separately between the hands; cover the swollen parts with them, and keep in 
place by wrapping the limb with rags or a towel on going to bed at night, or 
keep them on during the day if not obliged to be upon the feet. A cure will 
be speedily effected. 

Acid Stomach. —A little magnesia and water will sometimes correct the 
acidity of a child’s stomach, and render unnecessary any stronger medicine. 
Powder a teaspoonful of magnesia, and put it in half a glass of water; it will 
not dissolve, of course, but will mix with the water so that an infant can 
swallow it. Give a teaspoonful of this three times a day until indications 
warrant you in discontinuing it. 

Diet During Diarrhoea. —Tea without milk, and very little sugar; 
mutton and chicken broths, or beef tea, thickened with a little Hour or 
arrowroot; boiled rice, tapioca, sago; rice-water or toast-water to drink. If 
the attack is severe, or of long continuance, the patient must be kept in bed. 
The feet must be kept warm, and the covering to suit the feelings of the pa¬ 
tient. ^ 

To Prevent Sunstroke —Sunstroke is prevented by wearing a silk 
handkerchief in the crown of the hat, or green leaves, or a wet cloth of any 
kind; but, during an attack, warm water should be instantly poured on the 
head, or rags dipped in the Avater and renewed every minute. The reason 
is tivo-fold—the scalp is dry and hot, and the warm Avater not only removes 
■ the dryness but carries off the extra heat Avith great rapidity by evaporation. 

To Ascertain Fractures. —Fractures of the ribs may be ascertained by 
placing the tips of tivo or three fingers on the spot where the pain is, and 
desiring the jiatient to cough. If a rib be broken, a grating sensation will be 
felt. All that is necessary is to pass a broad bandage round the chest so 
tight as to prevent the motion of the ribs in breathing, and to observe a low 
diet. 





458 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Removing Substances from tbe Ear. —Take a horse-hair about six 

inches long, and double it so as to make a loop at one,end. Introduce this 
loop as deeply as possible iuto the auditory canal, and twist it gently around- 
After one or two turns, according to the originator of the plan, the foreign 
body is drawn out with the loop. The method is ingenious, and at all 
events causes little pain, and can do no harm. 

Deficiency of Wax in ilie Ear.—Deafness is sometimes the conse¬ 
quence of a morbidly dry state of the inner passages of the ear. In such 
cases, introduce a bit of cotton wool dipped in an equal mixture of oil of 
turpentine and oil of almonds, or in the liniment of carbonate of am¬ 
monia. 

Snake Bites.—Turpentine is said to be a sure cure for a bite of a snake. 

It should be put in a bottle, and the mouth being placed over the spot, the 
liquid brought directly in contact with the wound by inverting the bottle, 
which should be held there until relief is obtained. A complete alleviation 
of pain has been known to ensue in less than a quarter of an hour. An im¬ 
portant discovery. 

♦ 

Sore Eyes. —Get the roots of linwood (some call it bass-w'ood), wash and 
scrape the outer bark clean, then scrape the inner bark very fine, filling a 
tumbler about one-third full. Then fill the tumbler nearly full of rain-water. 

It will, in a little while, thicken like jelly. Now take a thin, soft cloth, the 
thinner the better, put some of the mucilage between two pieces and place 
it upon the eyes. It is very soothing. 

Laxatives.—Infusions of Epsom salts and senna are often taken as laxa- - 
tives, or opening medicines. It is a well known fact that a teaspoonful of 
salts in a tumbler of cold water, if drunk before breakfast, is as effectual a 
dose as the usual ounce. Senna, too, if steeped in cold water, is equally ' 
efficacious, and free from the nauseous bitter taste which it has w r hen in¬ 
fused in boiling water. 

To Prevent Gray Hair. —To check premature grayness, the head 
should be well brushed morning and night, with a brush hard enough to 
irritate the skin somewhat. The bristles should be far enough apart to 
brush through the hair, as it were, rather than over it. Oil, rather than 
pomade, should be used. Common sweet oil, scented with bergamot, can be 
recommended. 

Cholera Infantum. —For cholera infantum, the whites of two eggs, well I 
l#aten; then mix with water; add one teaspoonful of orange flower water 
and a little sugar; a tablespoonful every hour. It will, says an authority, 
cure the worst case of cholera infantum, the egg coating the bowels. 

Treatment for Fever. —If the patient has a burning fever, take an 
earthen wash-bowl, fill two-thirds full of tepid water, in which put one 
tablespoonful of common baking soda; then bathe the face, body, and limbs 
freely with it and wipe dry. This treatment for fever was learned from one jf 
of our best physicians. 

Blood Blister—When a finger is bruised so as to cause a blood-blister 1 
under the nail, it should immediately be drilled with a knife or other sharp- J 
pointed instrument, and the blood allowed to escape. This affords instant 
relief to an injury which may otherwise become exceedingly painful. 




THE HOME • P HYSICIAE. 459 

A Y apor Bath. —A vapor bath may easily be prepared at home. Place 
a pail ot hot water under a cane-bottomed chair, or if you have not one, put 
a narrow piece ol board aci’oss the pail; on this the patient should sit for 
half an hour, covered by a blanket reaching to the floor, so as to keep in the 
steam. 

Ventilation.. —The best way to admit pure air in the night (where win¬ 
dows are the only mode ol ventilation) is to open the sleeping-room into a 
hall where there is an open window in order to avoid the draught. A win¬ 
dow with a small opening at the top and bottom ventilates more than one 
with one opening only. 

A Cheap and Simple Way to Disinfect a Room.— Heat a common 
iron fire-shovel hot, but not quite red hot, and pour an ounce of carbolic 
acid fluid on it. The fumes will penetrate the room everywhere and cleanse 
the air of its impurities. This should be repeated daily so long as it is 
necessary. 

Deafness. —Put a tablespoonful of bay-salt into nearly half a pint of cold 
sprmg water; and after it has steeped therein for twenty-four hours, now 
and then shaking the phial, pour a small teaspoonful in the ear most affected, 
nightly, Avhen in bed, for seven or eight successive nights. 

Tetter. —Procure some strawberry leaves, and lay the outside, or woolly 
side of the leaf on the parts affected. They must be laid on very thick, and 
be changed occasionally. They will draw out inflammation, and cure the 
disease. 

Stiff Week:. —Apply over the place affected a piece of black oil-cloth with 
the right side to the skin, then tie up the neck with a thick handkerchief. 
In a short time the part will grow moist, and, by leaving thus twelve hours, 
the pain will be removed. 

Food for a, Young Child— If a very young child has to be fed, take 
the top crust of good, sweet home-made bread; soak it in cold water half an 
hour, and then boil twenty minutes; cover tight; then beat with a fork until 
smooth and sweet. This will agree with the stomach better than anything else. 

Piles. —The ingredients are: Two tablespoonfuls of tar, eight tablespoon- 
luls of lard, not heaped. First wash the parts effected with castile soap and 
water, and then apply the ointment. The ointment should be used once or 
twice each day. 

Cramp, in Bathing —For the cure of the cramp when swimming, Dr. 
Franklin recommends a vigorous and violent shock to the part affected, by 
suddenly and forcibly stretching out the leg, which should be darted out of 
the water into the air if possible. 

Spasms. —To cure this distressing form of malady, take two pennyworth 
of camphor, and infuse it in one pint of brandy. Let it stand foi’ty-eight 
hours, and then it is fit for use. When the attack comes on, take one tea¬ 
spoonful in a wineglass of water. 

Gum-Boil, or Weakness of the Gums. —Take of acetate of morphia, 
two grains; tincture of myrrh, six drachms; tincture of krameria, one ounce; 
spirits of lavender, three ounces and a half. Let a lotion be made. 




400 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Choking. —To prevent choking, break an egg into a cup and give it to 
the person choking, to swallow. The white of the egg seems to catch around 
the obstacle and remove it. If one egg does not answer the purpose, try an¬ 
other. The white is all that is necessary. 

Scrofulous Sore Eyes.—Take blue violets, which are growing wild in 
most places, dig them up, top and root, wash clean, dry them and make a 
tea; drink several times a day, wetting the eyes each time, and it will soon 
cure. 

Weak Ankles. —Bathing them in wine-lees will strengthen them; fre¬ 
quent bathing in salt and water—four ounces of salt to one quart of water— 
is also beneficial. Skating moderately indulged in, will be attended by good 
results. 

Hot Milk as a Stimulant. —If any one is fatigued, the best restorative 
is hot milk, a tumbler of the beverage as hot as can be sipped. This is far 
more of a restorative than any alcoholic drink. 

Col*l Feet. —Cold feet are the precursors of consumption. To escape 
them, warm your feet well in the morning, and covering the sole with a 
piece of common paper, carefully draw on the sock, and then the boot or 
shoe. 

Drink in Cases of Fever. —There is no more refreshing drink in cases 
of fever than weak green tea, with lemon juice added instead of milk. It 
may be taken either cold or hot, but the latter is preferable. 

Frozen Limb?. —Dissolve from one quarter to half a pound of alum in 
a gallon of warm water, and immerse the feet or hands in it Avhen frozen, for 
ten or fifteen minutes, and a cure will be effected. 

Foreign Bodies in the Throat -“ Foreign bodies lodged in the throat 

can be removed,” says Dr. Beveridge, a British naval surgeon, “ by forcibly 
blowing into the ear.” The plan is so easily tried and so harmless that wo 
suggest its use. 

Hiccough. —Hiccough effects some persons very persistently, and where 
a simpler remedy does not check it, a half teaspoonful of nitre in a half 
tumbler of water is recommended as an instantaneous remedy. 

Cankers —Those whitish-looking specks which appear on the inside of 
the cheeks and lips, may be easily removed by touching them with burnt 
alum. 

Enlarged Neck. —To cure enlarged neck, take two tablespoonfuls of 
salt, two of borax and two of alum, dissolve in two of water and apply three 
times a day for three weeks. 

A Prompt Emetic. —The ingredients are: Tartar emetic, one grain; 
powdered ipecac, twenty grains. Take the above in a wineglassful of 
sweetened Avater. 

Swelled Feet —For swelled feet a good remedy will be found in bathing 
them in vinegar and water. 


THE TOILET 


Tooth Powder. —(l) Dissolve two ounces of borax in three pints of 
boiling water, and before it is cold, add one teaspoonful of the spirits of 
camphor, and bottle for use. A tablespoonful of this mixture, mixed with 
an equal quantity of tepid water, and applied daily with a soft brush, pre¬ 
serves and beautifies the teeth, extirpates all tartarous adhesion, arrests 
decay, induces healthy action of the gums, and makes the teeth pearly 
white. 

(2) The dark colored substance which collects on neglected teeth cannot 
be removed with a brush and water. Pulvei-ized charcoal will take it off, 
but this scratches the enamel and leads to decay of the tooth. A better sub¬ 
stance is pumice stone in powder. Dip a pine stick into it, and scour the teeth. 
After this treatment the daily use of the tooth brush and tepid water will be 
sufficient. 

(3) A good way to clean teeth is to dip the brush in water, rub it over 
genuine white castile soap, then dip it in prepared chalk. A lady says: “ I 
have been complimented upon the whiteness of my teeth, which were origi¬ 
nally anything but white. I have used the soap constantly for two or three 
years, and the chalk for the last year. There is no danger of scratching the 
teeth, as the chalk is prepared, but with a good stiff brush and the soap, is 
as effectual as soap and sand on a floor. 

(4) Mix six ounces of the tincture of Peruvian bark with half an ounce of 
sal-ammoniac. Shake it well before using. Take a spoonful and hold it near 
the teeth; then with a finger dipped into it, rub the gums and teeth, which 
must afterward be washed with warm water. This tincture cures the tooth¬ 
ache, preserves the teeth and gums, and makes them adhere to each other. 

(5) Prepared chalk, one pound; camphor, one or two drachms. The 
camphor must be finely powdered, by moistening it with a little spirits of 
wine, and then intimately mixed with the chalk. 

(6) Ingredients: Powdered charcoal, four ounces; powdered yellow 
bark, two ounces; powdered myrrh, one ounce; orris root, half an ounce. 

(7) Ten cents’ worth ground chalk, five cents’ worth orris root, five 
cents’ worth myrrh, one teaspoonful powdered castile soap, Mix all well 
together. 

(8) A mixture of honey with the purest charcoal will prove an admirable 
cleanser. 

Freckles.—(1) Freckles are easily removed by the following treatment, 
but the directions must be followed regularly: Five grains corrosive sub¬ 
limate, two ounces alcohol, four ounces water. Apply two or three times 
during the day. At night use the following ointment: One ounce of white 
wax, one teacupful of nice white lard, lump of camphor tho size of a chest¬ 
nut, one teaspoonful glycerine. Put the wax and camphor in a tin to melt, 
crumbling the camphor; when melted, add the other ingredients. Stir 
thoroughly, and pour into molds which have been dipped in water. 







462 


THE HOUSEHOLD . 


This recipe will be found to remove pimples as well as tan and 
freckles. 

(2) A good freckle lotion for the cure of freckles, tan, or sun-burned face 
or hands is made thus: Take half a pound of clear ox-gall, half a drachm 
each of camphor and burned alum, one drachm of borax, two ounces of 
rock salt, and the same of rock candy. This should be mixed and shaken 
well several times a day for three weeks, until the gall becomes trans¬ 
parent; then strain it very carefully through filtering paper, which may 
be had of the druggist. Apply to the face during the day, and wash off at 
night. 

(3) Wash in fresh buttermilk every morning, and rinse the face in tepid 
water; then use a soft towel. Freckles may also be removed by applying to 
the face a solution of nitre and water. Another good wash for freckles is 
made by dissolving three grains of borax in five drachms each of rose water 
and orange flower water. There are many remedies for freckles, but there 
is none that will banish them entirely. 

(4) Take one ounce of lemon juice, a quarter of a drachm of powdered 
borax, and half a drachm of sugar. Mix and let them stand in a glass 
bottle for a few days, then rub it on the face and hands night and morning. 
Two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice would equal an ounce. 

(5) Rectified spirits of wdne, one ounce; water, eight ounces; half an 
ounce of orange flower water, or one ounce of rose water; diluted muriatic 
acid, a teaspoonful. Mix. To be used after washing. 

(6) Take grated horseradish and put in very sour milk. Let it stand 
four hours; then Avash the face night and morning. 

To Prevent the Hair Falling Off.—(l) When the hair, after being 
naturally luxuriant, begins to grow thin, without actually coming out in par¬ 
ticles, use the following receipt: Take of extract of yellow Peruvian bark, 
fifteen grains; extract of rhatany root, eight grains; extract of burdock root 
and oil of nutmegs (mixed), of each, two drachms; camphor dissolved with 
spirits cf wine, fifteen grains; beef marrow, two ounces; best olive oil, one 
ounce; citron juice, half a drachm; aromatic essential oil, as much as is suf¬ 
ficient to render it fragrant; mix, and make into an ointment. Two drachms 
of bergamot and a few drops of attar of roses would suffice. This is to be 
used every morning. 

(2) Onions must bo rubbed frequently on the part. The stimulating- 
powers of this vegetable are of essential service in restoring the tone of the 
skin, and assisting the capillary vessels in sending forth new hair; but it is 
not infallible. Should it succeed, however, the growth of these new hairs 
may be assisted by the oil of myrtleberries, the repute of which, perhaps, is 
greater than its real efficiency. These applications are cheap and harmless, 
even where they do no good; a character which cannot be said of the numer¬ 
ous quack remedies that meet the eye in every direction. 

(3) To prevent hair from falling out or turning gray, take a teacupful of 
dried sage, and boil it in a quart of soft water for twenty minutes. Strain it 
off and add a piece of borax the size of an English walnut; pulverize the 
borax Put the sage tea, when cool, into a quart bottle; add the borax; 
shake well together, and keep in a cool place. Brush the hair thoroughly 
and rub the wash well on the head with the hand. Then, after a good hard 
rubbing, brush the hair well before the fire so it will become dry. 

(4) Put equal quantities of rum and sweet oil into a bottle, and, before 
using, shake theffi well together. This mixture shouJ-d b© applied with a 



THE TOILET. 


463 


soft brash to the roots of the hair every night; it should be tried for a month 
at the least, before any improvement can be expected. 

(5) Put one pound of unadulterated honey into a still, with three hand¬ 
fuls of the tendrils of vine and the same quantity of rosemary tops. Distill 
as cool and as slowly as possible. The liquor may be allowed to drop till it 
tastes sour. 

(6) To prevent the hair from falling out apply once a week a wash made 
of one quart of boiling water, one ounce of pulverized borax and half an 
ounce of powdered camphor. Hub on with a sponge or a piece of flannel. 

(7) Take a piece of saltpetre the size of a hickory nut, and put in a quart 
of water, and wet the head daily. 

To Soften flie Hands.—(l) To soften the hands, fill a wash-basin half 
full of fine, white sand and soap suds as hot as can bo borne. Wash the 
hands in this five minutes at the time, washing and rubbing them in the 
sand. The best is the flint sand, or the white, powdered quartz sold for 
filters. It may be used repeatedly by pouring the water away after each 
washing, and adding fresh to keep it from blowing about. Rinse in warm 
lather of fine soap, and, alter drying, rub them with dry bran or cornmeal. 
Dust them, and finish with rubbing cold cream well into the skin. This 
effectually removes the roughness caused by housework, and should be 
used every day, first removing ink or vegetable stains with acid. 

(2) Soap is an indispensable article for cleansing hands, but it often 
leaves the skin rough; cracks on the hands come, and soap is often unpleas¬ 
ant. Use honey, rub it on when the skin is dry; moisten a little, rub harder, 
use a little more water; finally wash thoroughly and your hands will be as 
clean as though the strongest soap were used, and no cracks or roughness 
will annoy you. 

(3) Keep a dish of Indian meal on the toilet stand near the soap, and rub 
the meal freely on the hands after soaping them for washing. It will sur¬ 
prise you, if you have not tried it, to find how it will cleanse and soften the 
skin, and prevent chapping. 

(4) Before retiring take a large pair of gloves and sju’ead mutton tallow 
inside, also all over the hands. Wear the gloves all night, and wash the 
hands with olive oil and white castile soap the next morning. 

(5) After cleansing the hands with soap, rub them well with oatmeal 
while still wet. Honey is also very good, used in the same way as lemon- 
juice, well rubbed in at night. 

To Whiten the Hands—(1) Keep some oatmeal on the washstand, 
and, as often as the hands are washed, rub a little oatmeal over them; then 
rinse it off, and, when dry, put on a little bit of pomade, made as follows; 
Take about five cents’ worth each of white wax, spermaceti, and powdered 
camphor, and olive oil enough to make it the thickness of soap; put it in a 
gallipot, and let it stand in an oven to melt; mix it up, and, Avhen cold, it 
will be found very good for the hands. Gloves, worn either in the day or 
night, will help to keep the hands white. 

(2) A cake of brown Windsor soap scraped into thin flakes, and then 
mixed with a tablespoonful of eau de cologne, and a tablespoonful of lemon 
juice, is said to make a useful preparation for this purpose. There is 
nothing injurious to the skin in the composition. When the soap has been 
thoroughly blended with the lemon juice and eau de cologne, it should 
be pressed into a mold—one made of cardboard in the form of a small 





464 THE HOUSEHOLD. 

box, the size of a cake of soap, will answer the purpose—and allowed to dry 
before it is used. 

(3) Half an ounce of white wax, half an ounce of spermaceti, quarter of 
an ounce of powdered camphor. Mix them with as much olive oil as will 
form them into a very stiff paste, and use as often as you wash your 
hands. 

(4) Mixtures of two parts of glycerine, one part ammonia, and a little 
rose water whiten and soften the hands. 

Pimples. —(t) It inquires self-denial to get rid of pimples, for persons 
troubled with them will persist in eating fat meats and other articles of food 
calculated to produce them. Avoid the use of rich gravies, or pastry, or 
anything of the kind in excess. Take all the out-door exercise you can and 
never indulge in a late supper. Retire at a reasonable hour, and rise early 
in the morning. Sulphur to purify the blood may be taken three times a 
week—a thimbleful in a glass of milk before breakfast. It takes some time 
for the sulphur to do its work, therefore persevere in its use till the hu¬ 
mors, or pimples, or blotches, disappear. Avoid getting wet while taking 
the sulphur. 

(2) Try this recipe: Wash the face twice a day in warm water, and rub 
dry with a coarse towel. Then with a soft towel rub in a lotion made of two 
ounces of white brandy, one ounce of cologne, and one half ounce of liquor 
potassa. Persons subject to skin eruptions should avoid very salt or fat 
food. A dose of Epsom salts occasionally might prove beneficial. 

(3) Wash the face in a dilution of carbolic acid, allowing one teaspoonful 
to a pint of water. This is an excellent and purifying lotion, and may be 
used on the most delicate skins. Be careful about letting this wash get into 
the eyes. 

(4) Oil of sweet almonds, one ounce; fluid potash, one drachm. Shake 
well together, and then add rose water, one ounce; pure water, six ounces. 
Mix. Bub the pimples or blotches for some minutes with a rough towel, 
and then dab them Avith the lotion. 

(5) Dissolvo one ounce of borax, and sponge the face Avith it every night. 
When there are insects, rub on flour of sulphur, dry, after Avashing, rub Avell 
and wipe dry; use plenty of castile soap. 

(6) Dilute corrosive sublimate with oil of almonds. A feAV days’ applica¬ 
tion will remove them. 

Cosmetics—(1) Oatmeal may be used for beautifying the complexion in 
this way: Take a small quantity of meal and pour sufficient cold Avater over 
it to make a thin paste; then strain through a fine sieve and bathe the face 
Avith the liquid, leaving it to dry upon the skin. This preparation renders 
the complexion very soft and Avliite. 

(2) Take an ordinary milk pan, and fill it with the white flowers of the 
elderberry bush. The floAveis should be covered Avith boiling Avater, placed 
out-of-doors in the sun for about three days, strained off, and bottled. The 
liquid should be of a dark mahogany color. It is an excellent lotion to re¬ 
move sunburn and freckles. 

(3) Squeeze a little lemon juice on a soft, Avet rag, and pass the rag over 
the face a number of times before retiring at night. Repeat the operation as 
often during the following day as you find it convenient, allowing the juice 
of the lemon to dry on the face. In a week or so you Avill experience great 
benefit. 

(4) Glycerine and lemon juice make a very good toilet article for improv- 



THE TOILET. 


465 


ing the complexion. Mix before applying it. A convenient way of using 
these articles is to pour a little of the glycerine into the palm of the hand, 
then squeeze out a few drops of lemon, rub together, and apply to the 
face. 

(5) Take half a cup of water, and add to it a tablespoonful of glycerine. 
Add to this a tablespoonful of alcohol and a teaspoonful of colonge. Apply 
with a sponge or a soft cotton cloth. 

(6) An inlusion of horseradish and milk, as a correspondent informs us, 
will make a most excellent, harmless, and effective cosmetic. It is certainly 
very easily tried. 

(7) Melt one pound of soft soap over a slow fire, with half a pint of SAveet 
oil, and add a teacupful of fine sand. Stir the mixture together until cold, 

(8) Use a teaspoonful of powdered borax every morning in the basin of 
water, when washing the face or hands; also use it when taking a bath. 

Sunburn. —(1) Take two drachms of borax, one drachm of Roman alum, 
one drachm of camphor, half an ounce of sugar-candy, one pound of ox-gall; 
mix and stir well for ten minutes or so, and repeat this stirring three or four 
times a day for a fortnight, till it appears clear and transparent. Strain 
through blotting paper, and bottle up for use. It is said that strawberries 
rubbed over the face at night will remove freckles and sunburn. 

(2) Wash the face at night with either sour milk or buttermilk, and in 
the morning \A T ith Avealt bran tea and a little eau-de cologne. This Avill soften 
the skm and remove the redness, and will* also make it less liable to burn 
again with exposure to the sun. Bathing the face several times in the day 
with elder flower water and a feAv drops of eau-de-cologne is very efficacious. 

(3) Put tAvo spoonfuls of SAveet cream into half a pint of neAv milk; squeeze 
into it the juice of a lemon, add half a glass of genuine French brandy, a 
little alum and loaf sugar; boil the Avhole, skim it well, and, Avhen cold, it 
is fit for use. 

Pomade for the Hair.—(1) Ingredients: one quarter pound of lard; 
two pennyworth of castor oil; scent. Mode: Let the lard be unsalted; beat 
it up well; then add the castor oil, and mix thoroughly together Avith a knife, 
adding a feAv drops of any scent that may be preferred. Put the pomatum 
into pots, Avhich keep well covered to prevent it turning rancid. 

(2) A flask of salad oil, one and a half ounces of spermaceti, half ounce 
of white wax; scent as desired. Cut up the white Avax and spermaceti into 
small pieces, and put them into the oven to melt with a small quantity of 
the oil. When the lumps have disappeared, and all the ingredients are 
thoroughly amalgamated, pour in the remainder of the oil and the scent, and 
stir with a spoon until cold. 

(3) Three ounces of olive oil, three quarters of a drachm of oil of al¬ 
monds, two drachms of palm oil, half an ounce of white Avax, a quarter of a 
pound of lard, and three quarters of a drachm of essence of bergamot. This 
pomade is excellent for strengthening the hair, promoting the growth of 
Avhiskers and moustaches, and preventing baldness. 

• (4) Take one ounce of spermaceti, one ounce of castor oil, four ounces of 

olive oil, and tAvo pennyworth of bergamot, and melt them together in a pot 
placed in boiliug Avater, stirring the mixture all the Avhile; when thoroughly 
mixed, pour the mixture into pots Avhile hot. 

The Teeth.—The teeth need Crushing at least before going to bed every 
night, and are better for being cleansed after each meal. Tartar can be re- 



4G6 


THE HOUSEHOLD . 


moved by using pumice stone reduced to powder, rubbing it on the teeth 
with a tyU of soft wood made into a brush. Where the gums are sensitive, 
there is nothing better than the chalk and myrrh dentifrice. Where the top 
of a tooth is very sensitive, wet a bit of chalk and lay it on under the lip. 
Where the breath is offensive the mouth should be rinsed with water in which 
an atom of permanganate of potash has been dissolved; just enough should 
be used to make the water pink. Take care not to swallow any, as it is a 
poison. Crooked teeth in children can often be straightened, without ap¬ 
plying to a dentist, if the parents watch the teeth when coming through, and 
several times a day press the crooked one into position. Of course where 
the arch of the mouth is defective, the upper teeth protruding over the under 
lip, or the under jaw projects, the sendees of a skillful dentist will be re¬ 
quired. It is only after the permanent teeth arrive that such operations are 
performed. 

Toilet Powder. —Just think of it, one of the most deadly poisons known 
—used because of its cheapness, to add weight to an article applied solely to 
the delicate skins of women and children. Fearful and immrable skin dis¬ 
eases upon children to whom it has been applied to prevent chafing, led to 
the discovery. It is safe to discard all French toilet powder. Safe prepara¬ 
tions are put up in this country, but each mother can make her own, be¬ 
cause the best are only perfumed starch. Starch, made perfectly dry, and 
sifted through the finest sieve, may be used, or a few drops of any desired 
perfume may be mixed with it. Those who have lavender or other aromatic 
flowers can fold them in thin paper, and place these with layers of starch, in 
a box, renewing the flowers every few days, until the starch has absorbed 
sufficient perfume. The starch will take up a little moisture from the flow¬ 
ers, and it is best to let it be exposed to the sun, until quite dry, and then if 
at all lumpy, be sifted again. 

Rose Bandoline for the Hair. —Of gum tragacanth, six ounces, or one 
and one-half ounces; of rose water, one gallon, or two pints; of attar of roses, 
one-half ounce, or one drachm; steep the gum in the water for a day or so; 
as it swells or forms a gelatinous mass, it must from time to time be well 
agitated. After about forty-eight hours’ maceration, it is then to be squeezed 
through a coarse, clean linen cloth, and again left to stand for a few days; 
then pass it through the cloth a second time, to insure uniformity of consis¬ 
tency; when-this is the case, the attar of roses is to be thoroughly incor¬ 
porated. Almond bandoline is made precisely as the above, scenting with 
a quarter of an ounce of attar of almonds in place of the roses. 

Eruptions on the Face. —Dissolve an ounce of borax in a quart of 
water, and apply this with a fine sponge every evening before going to bed. 
This will smooth the skin w T hen the eruptions do not proceed from an insect 
working under the cuticle. Many persons’ faces are disfigured by red erup¬ 
tions caused by a small creature working under the skin. A very excellent 
remedy is to take the flour of sulphur and rub it on the face dry, after wash¬ 
ing it in the morning. Rub it well with the fingers, and then wipe it off ) 
with a dry towel. There are many w r ho are not a little ashamed of their 
faces, wiio can be cured if they follow these directions. 

Chapped Hands.—(1) To cure chapped hands, take common starch and 
rub it into a fine, smooth pownler, put it jn a clean tin box, and every time 
the hands are removed from dish water or hot suds, rinse them carefully in 



THE TOILET. 46? 

clean water, and while they are damp, rub a pinch of starch over them, 
covering the whole surface. 

(2) Melt spermaceti, one drachm, with almond oil, one ounce; and add 
powdered camphor, one drachm. It will be improved by adding a couple 
of drachms of glycerine, using as much less of the almond oil. 

(3) One-half ounce of glycerine with same amount of alcohol. Mix, and 
add four ounces of rose water. Bottle, and shake well. An excellent 
remedy for rough or chapped hands. 

To Sweeten tlie Breatli. —From six to ten drops of the concentrated 
solution of chloride of soda in a wineglassful of spring water, taken imme¬ 
diately after the ablutions of the morning are completed, will sweeten the 
breath by disinfecting the stomach, which, far from being injured, will be 
benefitted by the medicine. If necessary, this may be repeated in the mid¬ 
dle of the day. In some cases the odor from carious teeth is combined 
with that of the stomach. If tlie mouth is well rinsed with a teaspoonful of 
the chloride in a tumbler of water, the bad odor of the teeth will be 
removed. 

Bay Rum. —Saturate one-quarter pound of carbonate of magnesia with 
oil of bay; pulverize the magnesia, place it in a filter, and pour water 
through it until the desired quantity is obtained, then add alcohol. The 
quantity of water and alcohol employed depends on the desired strength 
and quantity of the bay rum. Another: Oil of bay, ten fluid drachms; oil of 
pimento, one fluid drachm; acetic ether, two fluid drachms; alcohol, three 
gallons; water, two and a half gallons. Mix, and after two weeks’ repose, 
filter. 

Otto of Roses. —Fill a largo glazed earthen jar with rose leaves, care¬ 
fully separated from the cups; pour upon them spring water, just sufficient 
to cover them, and set the jar with its contents in the sun for two or three 
days, taking it under cover at night. At the end of the third or fourth day, 
small particles of yellow oil will be seen floating on the surface of the water, 
and which, in the course of a week, will have increased to a thin scum. The 
scum is the otto of roses; take it up with a little cotton tied to the end of a 
stick, and squeeze it into a phial. 

Essence from Flowers. —Procure a quantity of the petals of any flow¬ 
ers which have an agreeable fragrance; card thin layers of cotton, which 
dip into the finest Florence or Lucca oil; sprinkle a small quantity of fine 
salt on the flowers alternately until an earthen vessel or wide-moutlied glass 
bottle is full. Tie the top close with a bladder, then lay the vessel in a 
south aspect to the heat of the sun, and in fifteen days, when uncovered, a 
fragrant oil may be squeezed away, leaving a whole mass quite equal to the 
high-priced essences. 

To Curl tlie Hair. —There is no preparation which will make naturally 
straight hair assume a permanent curl. The following will keep the hair in 
curl for a short time: Take borax, two ounces; gum arabic, one draolim; and 
hot water, not boiling, one quart; stir, and, as soon as the ingredients are 
dissolved, add three tablespoonfuls of strong spirits of camphor. On retir¬ 
ing to rest, wet the hair with the above liquid, and roll in twists of paper as 
usual. Do not disturb the hair until morning, when untwist and form into 
ringlets. 




468 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Black Spots on the Face— The black spots on the face are not always 
what are called flesh worms. What arc mistaken for them are produced in 
this way: The skin may be coarse, and the ducts, being large, collect the 
perspiration, which hardens and blackens, and hence the common supposi¬ 
tion of there being grubs or maggots in the skin. The remedy is simple. 
Clean the part affected by squeezing out the substance that is lodged, and 
then use a lotion of diluted spirits of wine several times a day, until the 
blotches have disappeared. If they are really flesh worms take something 
to purify your blood—sulphur or sarsaparilla 

Moth Patches.—(1) It is said that the drinking of hard cider—two or 
three glasses per day—will remove moth spots. At least, so writes a cor¬ 
respondent who has tried it with success. While drinking the cider let tea 
yrd coffee alone. 

(2) Moth patches maybe removed from the face by the following remedy: 
Into a pint bottle of rum put a tablespoonful of flour of sulphur. Apply 
this to the patches once a day, and they will disappear in two or three * 
weeks. 

(3) Bathe the face two or three times a day in borax water; a teaspoon¬ 
ful of powdered borax in a basin of warm water. 

Cold Cream.—This is a simple and cooling ointment, exceedingly ser¬ 
viceable lor rough or chapped hands, or for keeping the skin soft. It is very 
easily made. Take half an ounce of white wax, and put it into a small basin, 
with two ounces of almond oil. When quite melted add two ounces of rose 
water. This must be done very slowly, little by little, and, as you pour it in, 
beat the mixture smartly with a fork to make the water incorporate. When 
all is incorporated, the cold cream is complete, and you may pour it into 
jars for future use. 

Scent Powder. —A good receipt for scent powder to be used for ward¬ 
robes, boxes, etc., far finer than any mixture sold at the shops, is the follow¬ 
ing: Coriander, orris root, rose leaves, and aromatic calamus, each one 
ounce; lavender flowers, ten ounces; rhodium, one-fourth of a drachm; 
musk, five grains. These are to be mixed and reduced to a coarse powder. 
This scents clothes as if fragrant flowers had been pressed in their folds. 

Walnut Hair Dye.—The simplest form is the expressed juice of the 
bark or shell of green walnuts. To preserve this juice, a little rectified 
spirits may bo added to it, with a few bruised cloves, and the whole digested 
together, with occasional agitation for a week or fortnight, when the clear 
portion is decanted, aud, if necessary, filtered. Sometimes, only a little 
common salt is added to preserve the juice. It should be kept in a cool 
place. 

Lavender Water. —Best English lavender, four drachms; oil of cloves, 
halt a drachm; musk, five grains; best spirits of wine, six ounces; water, 
one ounce. Mix the oil of lavender with a little spirit first, then add the 
other ingredients, and let it stand, being kept well corked for at least two 
months before it is used, shaking it frequently. 

To Increase the Growth of Hair. —Take of mutton suet, one pound; ' 
best white wax, four ounces; essences of bergamot and lemon, of each, three 
drachms; oils of lavender and thyme, of each, one drachm Mix the suet 
and wax over a gentle fire and then add the perfumes. 




the Toilet t 


m 

To Thicken <he Hair. —One quart of white wine, one handful of rose¬ 
mary flowers, one-half pound of honey, one-quarter pint of oil of sweet 
almonds. Mix the rosemary and honey with the wine, distill them together, 
then add the oil of sweet almonds and shake well. When using it, pour a 
little into a cup, warm it, and rub it into the roots of the hair. 

Crimping Hair. —To make the hair stay in crimp, take five cents’ worth 
of gum arabic and add to it just enough boiling water to dissolve it. Wheel 
dissolved, add enough alcohol to make it rather thin. Let this stand all 
night and then bottle it to prevent the alcohol from evaporating. This put 
on the hair at night, after it is done up in papers or pins, will make it stay in 
crimp the hottest day, and is perfectly harmless. 

The Nails. —Great attention should be paid to keeping the nails in good 
order. They should be brushed at least twice a day, and the skin round the 
lower part should be kept down by rubbing with a soft towel. The sides of 
the nails need clipping about onee in a week. If they become stained, wash 
them well with soap, and after rinsing off the soap well, brush them with 
lemon juice. 

Toilet Soap— -Take two pounds of pure beef tallow, two pounds of sal 
soda, one pound of salt, one ounce of gum camphor, one ounce of oil of ber¬ 
gamot, one ounce of borax; boil slowly an hour; stir often, let it stand till 
cold, then warm it over, so it will run easily, and turn into cups or molds, 
dipped in cold water. This is very nice for all toilet purposes, and is greatly 
improved by age. 

Almoncl Paste. —Take of bleached almonds four ounces, and the white 
of one egg; beat the almonds to a smooth paste in a mortar, then add the 
white of egg, and enough rose water, mixed with one-half its weight of 
spirits of Avine, to give the proper consistence. This paste is used as a 
cosmetic, to beautify the complexion, and is also a remedy for chapped 
hands, etc. 

Hair Wasli_ Take one ounce of borax, half an ounce of camphor pow¬ 

der—these ingredients fine—and dissolve them in one quart of boiling AA’ater. 
When cool, the solution will be ready for use. Damp the hair frequently. 
This Avash is said not only to cleanse and beautify, but to strengthen the 
hair, preserve the color and prevent baldness. 

To Make Eau de Cologne— Rectified spirits of AAine, four pints; oil of 
bergamot, one ounce; oil of lemon, half an ounce; oil of rosemary, halt a 
drachm; oil of neroli, three-quarters of a drachm; oil of English lavender, 
one drachm; oil of oranges, one drachm. Mix well, and then filter. It these 
proportions are too large, smaller ones may be used. 

Care of the Hair— To keep the hair healthy, keep the head clean. 
Brush the scalp Avell with a stiff brush while dry. Then wash with eastile 
soap, and rub into the roots, bay rum, brandy, or camphor water. This done 
twice a month Avill prove beneficial. Brush the scalp thoroughly twice a 
week. Dampen the hair Avith soft Avater at the toilet, and do not use oil. 

Pearl Water for the Complexion. —Take eastile soap, one pound; 
water, one gallon. Dissolve; then add alcohol, one quart; oil of rosemary 
and oil of lavender, of each two drachms. Mix well. 





470 THE HOUSEHOLD. 

Frenrh Milk of Roses— Two and one-half pints of rose water, one-half 
pint of rosemary water, two ounces of tincture of storan, two ounces of 
tincture of benzoin, one-lialf ounce of esprit de rose. First mix the rose 
water and rosemary water, and then add the other ingredients. This is a 
useful wash for the complexion. 

Violet Powder —Wheat starch, six parts by weight; orris root powder, 
two. Having reduced the starch to an impalpable powder, mix thoroughly 
with the orris root, and then perfume with otto of lemon, otto of bergamot, 
and otto of cloves, using twice as much of the lemon as either of the other 
ottos. 

Perfume for Handkerchiefs —Oil of lavender, three flui<l drachms; 
oil of bergamot, three fluid drachms; extract of ambergris, six minims; 
camphor, one grain; spirits of wine, one pint. To be well shaken every day 
for a fortnight, and then filtered. 

Bouquet de la Reine. —Take one ounce of essence of bergamot, three 
drachms of English oil of lavender, half a drachm of oil of cloves, half a 
drachm of aromatic vinegar, six grains of musk, and one pint and a half of 
rectified spirits of wine. Distill. 

Oil of Roses for the Hair. —Olive oil, one quart; otto of roses, one 
drachm; oil of rosemary, one drachm; mix. It may be colored by steeping 
a little alkanet root in the oil (with heat) before scenting it. It strengthens 
and beautifies the hair. 

Shampooing Liquid. —An excellent shampoo is made of salts of tartar, 
white castile soap, bay rum and lukewarm water. The salts will remove all. 
dandruff, the soap will soften the hair and clean it thoroughly, and the bay 
rum will prevent taking cold. 

Hair Restorative. —A good kair restorative may be made of boxwood 
leaves, of which take a handful and put into one pint of boiling water; digest 
for an hour, simmer ten minutes, and then strain. In applying it to the hair 
rub it well into the roots. 

Lip Salve. —Melt a lump of sugar in one and a half tablespoonfuls of 
rose water; mix it with two tablespoonfuls of sweet oil, a piece of spermaceti 
half as large as an English walnut; simmer the whole, and turn it into 
boxes. 

Wash for the Hair. —The best wash we know for cleansing and soften¬ 
ing the hair is an egg beaten up, and rubbed well into the hair, and after¬ 
ward washed out with several washes of warm water. 

Cure for Chapped Lips. —Dissolve a lump of beeswax in a small quan¬ 
tity of sweet oil—over a candle—let it cool, and it will be ready for use. 
Rubbing it warm on the lips two or three times will effect a cure. 


THE LAUNDRY. 


A Washing Machine. —Tlie opinion is now becoming general that the 
proper way to wash clothes is to alternately fill them with water and press 
it out, avoiding friction as much as possible. We herewith present a de¬ 
scription of a machine for this purpose. The figure is a sectional view. A 
is a cylinder two feet in diameter, made of any suitable material. In the 
middle of the cylinder will be seen a stationary cylinder head, B, which is 
perforated with holes. C C are two movable pistons, working watertight in 
the cylinder—both of them fastened rigidly to the rod I). On the top part 
of the rod is a rack, which gears into the pinion E, worked by the crank F. 
The operation is as follows: The upper piston is raised above the top of the 
cylinder, and the clothes to be washed are placed 
therein, with a sufficient quantity of soap and water. 

On depressing the piston by means of the crank, 
the upper piston presses all the water out of the 
clothes, passing through the cylinder head B, thence 
following the lower piston to the bottom of the cylin¬ 
der. Thus all the water is squeezed out of the 
clothes. On reversing the direction of the crank 
the pistons rise, and the lower one forces the water 
through the stationary head again into the clothes. 

It is thus depressed and raised alternately, soaking 
and squeezing the water out of the clothes. A 
stop-cock should be placed in the side of the cylin¬ 
der to let off the water when not required. 

Washing Lace Curtains. —There are many 
ways of doing this work; those which are bleached 
by the use of many of the bleaching powders make 
the lace beautifully clear and white, but usually in¬ 
jure the fabric; and when possible it is much safer 
to have them done up at home. The prevailing 
impression has been that there was some peculiar mystery in bleaching lace 
of any kind; that the process was tedious and very intricate, and if not done 
by a professional cleaner the lace was in imminent danger of destruction. 

It is not so at all. Once understood, the work is as simple as any wash¬ 
ing. Shake all the dust out of the lace curtains when taken down, but be 
gentle about it to avoid tearing. The shaking will remove the greater part 
of the loose dirt. Then spread them across two lines near together in the 
clothes yard, and brush them softly with a clean feather duster. When all 
has been brushed off, put them, one at a time, into a tub half full of milk- 
warm water and add two tablespoonfuls of liquid ammonia. Let it remain 
ten or fifteen minutes, turning it over carefully every minute or two, and 
squeezing with the hands. This through the ammonia will loosen all the 
dirt, after which squeeze out gently but as dry as can be done without 
breaking the meshes. Have ready another tub of tepid water with some 













































































472 THE HOUSEHOLD. 

more ammonia* and put the curtain into that immediately. Let it soak 
while the next curtain is taken through the same process as the first, and so 
on until all the curtains have been taken through at least three waters, or 
till the water looks clear, squeezing and washing the curtains with the hands 
as the work goes on. Ammonia in the two first waters is sufficient, and if 
not very gray and smoky, it will only be needed in the first. 

After taking the curtains through the three waters many starch and blue 
them, and* without any soap or scalding* prepare to stretch them and pin in 
shape. But we prefer to put them into a bag, or coarse pillow-case, and 
scald in clean soapsuds (not very strong) for a few minutes. The suds 
should be made of very pure soap, and the water, when they are first put in 
only tepid; then jnst bring to a boiling heat. While the curtains are scald¬ 
ing prepare two tubs of clean water—one to rinse the curtains when they are 
taken from the boiler, and the other for the last rinsing. This should be 
blued; and the Starch requires to be blued quite deeply, as* when hung up 
against the light* lace docs not appear blue. The blued water and starch 
should be strained, that no mote of bluing may escape to settle on the 
curtains. 

Take the curtains from the boiler when slightly scalded, rinse thoroughly, 
but with a gentle hand, till all the suds are out, then wring or squeeze out, 
and put through the bluing-water, wring out from that, and prepare to 
stretch, and pin out smoothly to the original length and width. This must 
be done when just taken from the water, as lace cannot be stretched when 
dry. The whole process of washing, scalding, rinsing and stretching should 
be done as expeditiously as consistent with thorough work, for no other cot¬ 
ton material shrinks so easily. 

Many pin a clean sheet on to a carpet, in an unoccupied airy room, and 
pin the curtains on to the sheet. Every point and scallop should be pulled 
out and pinned on to the sheet evenly. But that is a very hard way for any 
one who finds stooping and bending over painful; and we don’t think the 
lace looks as clear, because when pinned on to a carpet there can be no free 
circulation of air from underneath. 

It is easier, and in evex-y way bettei', to keep on hand four strips of thin 
boards, about thi'ee inches wide, made very similar to quilting-fi*ames, with 
holes at suitable distances, to increase or diminish the length and breadth to 
suit the size of the curtains, and strong wooden pins put thi*ough the holes 
to fasten the frames sti’ongly together. Tack, closely, strips of cloth, sel¬ 
vedge edge out, or wide tape, the whole length of the bars. Then place 
them on chaii'S so that they will stand firm and steady—out-doors, on a 
still, bright, sunny day—and pin or baste the curtains to the tape, pulling 
out and fastening every point in the lace. 

Before wetting the curtains do not forget to measure them in length and 
breath, and mark the measure on the frame they are to be dried on. When 
washed they must be fastened at both ends first, and then stretched to 
match this measure. It takes but a little time to dry curtains thus stretched 
in the sun, and if well rinsed, free from soap, several curtains may be 
stretched out at the same time. This is a gi’eat saving of time; but we 
always fear the lace will not look as clear as if dried separately. But we 
have never tried that way. We, however, hear it approved by those who 
have. • . 

Instead of nailing tape or strips of cloth to the “ frame,” small-sized gal¬ 
vanized tenter hooks are often driven into the frame on all four sides, and 
the lace or muslin curtains are caught on to these hooks and thus stretched 


the laundry. m 

out to dry. We do not like this so well as basting the curtains to the tape. 
We fancy the lace will be more injured on the hooks than it could be if sewed 
on. Lace should never be ironed. It costs but very little to make these 
bars, and they will last a life-time if carefully put away when not in use; 
and the curtains can be made to look quite as well as if done up in a French 
laundry, and will last much longer. It costs every year twice the expense 
of this frame to hire curtains done up. 

Convenient Clothes Bars. —The bars are two inches wide by one inch 
thick. Four bars are three feet eleven inches long, and four are one foot 
eleven inches. The rods are dressed out one inch square, and of the follow¬ 
ing lengths: Four rods four feet long; two rods four feet two inches long; two 
rods three feet ten inches long; one rod four feet three inches long for the 
center, to project three inches at one end; another rod for the top four feet 
four inches long and to project two inches in order to receive the piece shown 
in the engraving to regulate the height. It can be shut so as to not occupy 
more than a foot in 
width, or spread so as 
to hang a washing on. 

A three-fourth inch 
auger should be used 
in making. Any one 
who can use a plane or 
auger can make them. 

To Wash Blank. 

ets.— Take half a cake 
of soap, cut it into 
small pieces and dis¬ 
solve it thoroughly in 
hot water. Pour this 
into enough cold water 
to cover the blankets; 
add two ounces of bo- convenient clothes bars. 

rax (pulverized dis¬ 
solves most readily), and put your blankets to soak all night. In the morn¬ 
ing take them out and squeeze most of the water out of them and rinse thor¬ 
oughly in cold water, in which a little borax has been dissolved; put them 
through a second rinsing water and then through the bluing water. Do 
not wring or squeeze them this time, but hang them up to drain and dry. 
The easiest way is to take them, while in the last water, out under the 
clothes line, as it is not convenient to carry them when full of water. It is 
best not to double them over the line s but hang by one end or side. Of 
course you want a sunny day for drying them nicely, and if you put in to 
soak at night and the next day is stormy, it will not hurt them to soak longer. 
If the wool is very greasy, use more soap and borax. Fine flannels and 
baby’s crocheted skirts and sacques are nice when washed in this way, and 
if you use cold water they will not shrink. Vary the proportions of soap and 
borax to suit the quantity of water. I would not advise you to wash colored 
goods in this way, as they might fade. 

Washing Fluid. —(1) Take one pound of sal soda and half a pound of 
unslacked lime, and put them in a gallon of water; boil twenty minutes, let 
it stand till cool, then drain off and put in a small jug or jar; soak your dirty 

















474 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


clothes over night, or until they are wet through, then wring them and rub 
on plenty of soap, and in one boiler of clothes well covered with water, add 
a teacupful of the washing fluid; boil half an hour briskly, then wash them 
thoroughly with suds; rinse, and your clothes will look better than by the 
old way of washing twice before boiling. This is an invaluable receipt, and 
it should be tried by every woman who would save time and labor. 

(2) For washing alpaca, camel’s hair, and other woolen goods, and for 
removing marks made on furniture, carpets, rugs, etc.: Four ounces am¬ 
monia, four ounces white castile soap, two ounces alcohol, two ounces 
glycerine, two ounces ether. Cut the soap line, dissolve in one quart of 
water over the fire; add four quarts of water. When nearly cold, add the 
other ingredients. This will make nearly eight quarts. It must be put iu a 
bottle and stoppered tight. It will keep good any length of time. 

(3) An excellent washing fluid and one that will not injure the finest fab¬ 
ric is made of one bar of Russian soap cut up fine, one tablespoonful of kero¬ 
sene oil, a half cupful of washing soda and one gallon of water. The night 
before washday, put your clothes to soak in warm water. In the morning 
boil the fluid twenty minutes, add whatever cold water is required, for 
washing the clothes, put in the clothes and boil one-half hour; they are then 
ready to rinse and starch. 

(4) Any one who will take a tablespoonful of kerosene to a gallon of 
water, along with a small quantity of common yellow soap, brought to a 
boihng heat, will find a chemical compound which makes clothes as white 
as snow with very little labor. They are first soaked in warm water as long 
as convenient, and then boiled in the mixture half an hour, when the dirt 
wrings out readily. No odor of the oil remains, and the clothes are perfectly 
clean. 

(5) Add one pound of unslacked lime to three gallons of soft, boiling 
water. Let it settle and pour off. Then add three pounds of washing-soda, 
and mix with the lime-water. When dissolved, use a large wineglassful to 
each pailful of water. Add one gill of soft-soap to a pailful of water. 

(6) To make washing fluid, take half a pound of sal soda, quarter of a 
pound of borax, dissolved in one gallon of hot water; let it settle; pour off in 
bottles. One gill of this mixture with a pint of soft soap, or half a bar of ' 
soap dissolved in hot Avater, is enough for a washing. 

(7) Put one pound of saltpeter into a gallon of water, and keep it in a 
corked jug; two tablespoonfuls for a pint of soap. Soak, wash, and boil as 
usual. This bleaches the clothes beautifully without injuring the fabric. 

To Wash Flannel— Cut up what soap may be needed and dissolve in 
a skillet of boiling water. Let it stand on the stove and simmer till every 
particle is dissolved. Never rub soap on the flannel, or allow a bit to settle 
on them. Nothing “ fulls ” flannel so badly as rubbing soap on it, or letting i 
bits of it settle on the cloth. A place on which a bit of soap has lodged or 
been rubbed will have a different shade from the rest when dried, making 
the whole garment look spotted. 

Take a small tub not quite half full of scalding hot or boiling water. Into 
this pour enough of the dissolved soap to make a rich suds, also some am¬ 
monia, a teaspoonful and a half to ten or twelve quarts of suds is a fair pro¬ 
portion. Stir this and the soap into the hot water till it is all thoroughly in¬ 
corporated. Then put in the flannels. Two or three articles are enough to 
soak at one time. Press them well under the water, but turn them over in 
the suds occasionally while soaking. Lot them remain in the water till it ia 



475 


THE L AVNE HE. 

Cool enough to put the hands in without discomfort. While Washing keep a 
good quantity of water at boiling heat on the range for rinsing purposes, and 
to keep the suds as hot as it can be used. Before one piece is washed and 
ready to be wrung out fill a small tub half full of clear hot water. Into this 
stir a little more “ bluing ” than would be used for cotton or linen. Shake 
out each piece as soon as washed, quickly, and throw at once into the hot 
rinsing water. 

Hub the flannel as little as possible, but draw it repeatedly through the 
hands, squeezing rather than rubbing. Harsh rubbing thickens and injures 
the fabric. Never wring with a wringer, as the pressure mats the nap down 
so closely as to destroy all the soft, fieecy look of good flannel. Wring with 
the hands as dry as possible, then rinse and wring out again; and when as 
dry as it can be made by hand, snap out, stretch and pull out into the 
true shape; dry in the open air, if possible. Bring in when not quite dry, 
roll up a short time, and iron while still a little damp, so that each part can 
be more readily brought into shape. Pressing, when ironing, is better for 
the flannel than rubbing. It does not make the fabric feel so hard and 
wiry. 

Scarlet flannel is poisonous to some skins if used before washing, and as 
one is not always sure how one may be affected by it, it is safer to give it a 
scald in hot water with a little soap—not enough to make a strong suds. 
Let it stand and soak a few minutes, then 
wring out and treat like other flannels. 

Clothes Sprinkler. —Sprinkling clothes 
previous to ironing by dipping our hand hr 
a vessel of water and flirting it over the out¬ 
spread garment is, to say the least, per¬ 
formed in a very inefficient manner, for the clothes sprinkler. 
clothes are unequally dampened. Conse¬ 
quently, in ironing, some portions of the cloth are quite dry, while other 
parts are quite too damp. A sprinkler made of tin in the form shown, with 
its lower pa$t perforated with minute holes, is, when desired for use, placed 
in a vessel of water; by its own gravity it fills with water; after the sprink¬ 
ling of each garment it is placed in the vessel to again fill. Old dipper 
handles properly perforated serve an excellent purpose. This arrangement 
can also be used in watering delicate plants, sprinkling the carpet, etc. 

To Wash Lace. —Washing valuablo lace should be a labor of love; time 
and patience are important requisites to do it well, and it comes especially 
within the province of the gentlewoman who possesses it. A long wooden 
board, say two yards by one, will be necessary for deep flounces. For 
smaller pieces, one yard by half a yard will do, but the larger size is pi’efer- 
able, as several pieces can be done on it at the same time. The board must 
be covered "with thick flannel, and slightly stuffed to form a thick cushion. 
A good supply of fine, long lace pins, with small round heads, will be re¬ 
quired, as well as an ivory punch or an ivory knitting-needle, with a lound 
point, a lobster’s claw or a dog’s tooth. Before washing, the yellow stains 
sometimes observable in old lace should be removed by placing the discol¬ 
ored portiofi on a hot iron, covered with linen moistened with a solution of 
oxalic acid; the lace should afterward be steeped in luke-warm water. Tepid 
water expels the starch or stiffening, hot water shrinks the thread, while 
cold water sets the dirt. Having well soaked the lace, wash it in a lather of 




THE HOUSEHOLD. 


476 

purest white soap and luke-warm water. This must be clone with great 
delicacy of touch, and rubbing must not be attempted; it must be merely 
dabbed or patted, and pressed between the hands gently to and fro in the 
water. When the dirt is well out rinse it several times in lukewarm water, 
and if any stiffness is required pass it through water just sweetened with the 
finest white sugar candy. In drying, the moisture must be expelled by gen¬ 
tle pressure; hand wringing must never be resorted to for any of the finer 
kinds of lace. 

Doing up Men’s Linen. —Many a husband easy to please in all other 
respects, has had his weekly grumble over “ the way this collar sets,” or 
“ how this bosom bulges out!” And many a housewife has tried again and 
again to remedy these faults. A lady explains the difficulty in the following 
language: 

Some time ago my husband used to complain that his linen collars did 
not set nicely in front. There was always a fullness, which in the case of 
standing collars was particularly trying to a man who felt a good deal of 
pride in the dressing of his neck, as it spoiled the effect of his cravat, and 
often left a gap for the display of either the collar band of the shirt or a half 
inch of bare skin. While talking with a practical shirtmaker one day, ho 
mentioned liia annoyance, and inquired if there was any means of reliev¬ 
ing it. 

“ Yes,” answered the man, “the fault lies with your laundress. While 
doing up your collars she stretches them the wrong way. Damp linen is 
very pliable, and a good pull will alter a fourteen-inch collar in the twink¬ 
ling of an eye. She ought to stretch them crosswise, and not lengthwise. 
Then, in straightening out your shirt bosom, she makes another mistake of 
the same sort. They also ought to be polished crosswise instead of length¬ 
wise, particularly in the neighborhood of the neck. A lengthwise pull draws 
the front of the neckband up somewhere directly under your chin, where it 
was never meant to go, and of course that spoils the set of your collars. 
With the front of your neckband an inch too high, and your collar an inch 
too long, you have a most undesirable combination.” 

The speaker was right. As soon as my husband ordered the necessary 
changes to be made in the methods of our laundry, a wonderful difference 
manifested itself in the appearance of that most important part of his clad 
anatomy, the neck. Let me commend the shirtmaker’s hint to other dis¬ 
tressed women. 

How to Gloss Linen-Inquiry is frequently made respecting the mode 
of putbing’a gloss on linen collars and shirt fronts, like that of new linen. 
This gloss, or enamel, as it is sometimes called, is produced mainly by fric¬ 
tion with a warm iron, and may be put on linen by almost any person. The 
linen to be glazed receives as much strong starch as it is possible to charge 
it with, then it is dried. To each pound of starch a piece of sperm or white 
wax, about the size of a walnut, is usually added. When ready to be ironed, 
the linen is laid upon the table and moistened very lightly on the surface 
with a clean wet cloth. It is then ironed in the usual way with a flat-iron, 
and is ready for the glossing operation. For this purpose a peculiar heavy 
flat-iron, rounded at the bottom, as bright as a mirror, is used. It is pressed 
firmly upon the linen and rubbed with much force, and this frictional action 
puts on the gloss. “ Elbow grease ” is the principal secret connected with 
the art of glossing linen. 



THE LAUNDRY. 


477 


Washing Made Easy. —To save your linen and your labor pour on 
half a pound of soda two quarts of boiling water, in an earthenware pan; 
take half a pound of soap, shred fine, put it into a saucepan with two quarts 
of cold water, stand it on a fire till it boils, and when perfectly dissolved 
add it to the former. Mix it well, and then let it stand till cold, when it has 
the appearance of a strong jelly. Let your linen be soaked in water, the 
seams and any other dirty part rubbed in the usual way, and remain till the 
following morning. Get your wash boiler ready, and add to the water about 
a pint basin full. When lukewarm put in your linen and allow it to boil 
twenty minutes. Einse it in the usual way, and that is all which is necessary 
to get it clean and keep it in good color. The above recipe is invaluable to 
housekeepers. Give it a trial. 

Washing Clothes Without Failing-Wash and peel Irish potatoes, 
and then grate them into cold water. Saturate the articles to be washed in 
this potato water, and they can then be washed with soap without any run¬ 
ning of the color. I have taken oil out of carpets saturated with this potato 
water, when simple cold water would make the color run ruinously; have 
set the color in figured black muslins, in colored merinos, in ribbons and 
other silk goods. Often the potato water cleanses sufficiently without the 
use of soap, but the latter is necessary where there is any grease. In such 
cases (without soap) I take the grated potato itself and rub the goods with 
a flannel rag. In woolen goods it is necessary to strain the water, else the 
particles will adhere, but this is not necessary on goods from which they can 
be well shaken. 

A French Way of Washing Clothes. —A system of washing clothes 
has been introduced in some French towns which is worthy of special men¬ 
tion. Its economy is so great as to greatly reduce the cost. This is the 
process: Two pounds of soap are reduced with a little water to a pulp, which 
having been slightly heated, is cooled in ten gallons of water, to which is 
added one spoonful of turpentine oil and two of ammonia; then the mixture 
is agitated. The water is kept at a temperature which may be borne by the 
hand. In this solution the white clothes are put and left there for two hours 
before washing them with soap, taking care, in the meantime, to cover the 
tub. The solution may be warmed again and used once more, but it will 
be necessary to add a half a spoonful of turpentine oil and another spoonful 
of ammonia. Once washed with soap, the clothes are put in hot water, and 
the blue is applied. 

This process, it is obvious, saves much labor, much time and fuel, while 
it gives the clothes a whiteness much superior to that obtained by any other 
process, and the destructive use of the -wash-board is not necessary to clean 
the clothes from impurities. 

Bluing. —Bluing made from the following recipe has been in constant 
use in many families for several years. It does not injure even the finest 
clothes, and the cost is trifling compared with any other bluing. The quan¬ 
tity here noted has been known to last a family of six persons a year: Get 
one ounce of oxalic acid, one ounce of Chinese or Prussian blue (either will 
do), one quart of soft Avater. Put in a bottle and shake it well for two or 
three days after mixing it; after this do not shake it at all. If any of it set¬ 
tles to the bottom you can fill the bottle after using the first water. If when 
you buy it, it is not powdered, ask the druggist to powder it in a mortar for 
you. Unless the Chinese or Prussian blue is pure it will pot be a success; 


478 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


it will precipitate and make the clothes spotted. Ask the druggist to war¬ 
rant it, for if it is all right it is unequaled by any bluing in the market, and 
it is a matter of great economy to use it; the quantity mentioned costing 
only about twenty cents. 

To Wash Shetland Shawls. —Make a thin lather of boiled soap and 
water; plunge the shawl in this, and gently strip it through the hand. It 
must never be rubbed or wrung. When clean, rinse through water without 
any soap, hang it up for about a minute, shake it gently by each side alter¬ 
nately, pin it out on a shea* exactly square, and if the shawl be of a fine 
texture it should be lightly sewed down to the sheet by the top of the fringe 
to prevent it running up; then go over the whole fringe, drawing each thread 
separate, and laying it straight out. If these directions are carefully at¬ 
tended to the shawls may be -washed many times, and each time appear as 
well as when new. They should never be put into the hands of any but 
those who are accustomed to wash lace. 

Washing Hosiery ._ Stockings that are stained or troublesome to clean 
are improved by being stretched out on a board and scrubbed with a hand¬ 
brush. Colored stockings ought to be rinsed quickly and well, and opened 
by pulling them on the hands on each side, and holding them thus until the 
toe is reached, then letting them fall, and pinning them by the top and side 
to the line. Woolen stockings are kept from shrinking if dried on a wooden 
shape of the right size. These are easily made from shingles of thin boards. 

To Wash Colored Cottons. —Boil two quarts of bran in water for half 
an hour, let it cool, then strain it, and mix the liquor with the water in which 
the things are to be washed. They will only require rinsing, as the bran 
will stiffen them sufficiently. For colored muslins, rice-water is very good, 
as it helps to preserve the color; but, although it makes white muslins clear, 
it sometimes gives them a yellow tinge. When used it should previously bo 
boiled in the proportion of one pound of rice to one gallon of water. No 
soap is required. 

New Mixture Used In Washing Clothes. —In Berlin, Prussia, the 
washerwomen rise a mixture of two ounces of spirits of turpentine and one 
quarter ounce of spirits of sal-ammoniac, well mixed together. This mix¬ 
ture is put into a bucket of warm water, in which half a pound of soap has 
dissolved. Into this mixture the clothes are immersed during the night and 
the next day -washed. The most dirty cloth is perfectly freed from all dirt, 
and after two rinsings in pure water, the cloth has not the least smell of the 
turpentine. The cloth does not require so much rubbing, and fine linen is 
much longer preserved by it. 

Whitening Yellow Flannels.— Flannel that has become yellow from 
being badly washed can be whitened by soaking it for two or three hours in 
a lather made of one quarter of a pound of curd soap, two tablespoonfuls 
powdered borax and two tablespoonfuls of carbonate of ammonia, dissolved 
in five or six gallons of water. Boil the soap in small shavings in water till 
dissolved, then add to it the other ingredients. Let the flannel lie in it until 
it looks whiter, then squeeze and press it, and rinse in bluing water, and 
hang in the hot sun to dry. Iron while it is still damp. 

Hints for the Laundry.— If you wish your white clothes to look clear 
and pure white, always have ready a kettle of boiling water and scald them 


THE LAUNDRY. 


479 


thoroughly before putting them in the last rinse-water. Clothes washed 
ever so clean will look dingy if soapy water is allowed to dry into them. 
Scalding removes the suds. Prints should be washed out a piece at a time 
in warm water, rinsed, and hung to dry immediately. But very few colors 
will bear soaking in hot soapsuds. If you want your flannels to full, wash 
them in hot water, rub well upon a board, using plenty of soap, and rinse in 
cold water. This rule never fails. 

To Take Mildew from Clothes— Mix soft soap with powdered starch, 
half as much salt, and the juice of a lemon; lay it on the part with a brush; 
let it lay on the grass, day and night, till the stain comes out. Iron molds 
may be removed by the salt of lemons. Many stains may be removed by 
dipping the linen in sour buttermilk, and then drying it in a hot sun; wash 
it in cold water; repeat this three or four times. Stains, caused by acids, 
may be removed by tying some pearlash up in the stained part; scrape some 
soap in cold, soft Avater, and boil the linen till the stain is gone. 

Gum Arabic Starch. —Take two ounces fine White gum arabic and 
pound it to a powder; next put it into a pitcher and pour on it a pint or more 
ol boiling water, according to the degree of strength you require, and then 
having covered it, let it stand all night. In the morning pour it carefully 
from the dregs into a clean bottle; cork and keep it for use. A tablespoon¬ 
ful of gum water stirred into a pint of starch that has been made in the 
usual manner will give to lawns (either white or printed) a look of newness 
to Avhich nothing else can restore them after washing. 

For Washing Black or Navy Blue Linens, Percales, Etc. —Take 
two potatoes grated into tepid soft Avater (first having peeled and Avashed 
them), into Avhich put a teaspoonful of ammonia. Wash the goods in this 
and rinse in cold blue water. Starch Avill not be needed, and if at all prac¬ 
ticable, they should be dried and ironed on the Avrong side. It is said that 
an infusion of hay will preserve the colors of buff linens; an infusion of bran 
Avill do the same for brown linens and prints. 

To Bleach Linen. —Mix common bleaching powder in the proportion of 
one pound to a gallon of water; stir it occasionally for three days, let it 
settle, and pour it off clear. Then make a lye of one pound of soda to one 
gallon of boiling soft water, in which soak the linen for tAvelve hours, and 
boil it half an hour; next soak in the bleaching liquor, made as above; and 
lastly, wash it in the usual manner. Discolored linen or muslin may bo 
restored by putting a portion of bleaching liquor into the tub Avherein the 
articles are soaking. 

To Wash Lawns.—Boil two quarts of wheat bran in six quarts or more 
of Avater half an hour. Strain through a coarse towel, and mix in the water 
in which the muslin is to be Avashed. Use no soap, if you cau help it, and 
no starch. Ilinse lightly in clean Avater. This preparation both cleanses 
and stiffens the laAvn. If you can, conveniently, take out all the gathers. 
The skirt should always be ripped from the waist. According to Marion 
Harland these are best directions. 

Hints to Ironers. —Garments to be ironed in cold starch should be im¬ 
mediately dipped in boiling Avater, and ironed as soon as starched. You will, 
in this Avay, have no trouble with flats sticking to the cloth. Another good 
way is to wot the starch Avith Aveak cold suds made from Avhite soap, 


480 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


Washing Woolens. —If you do not wish to have white woolens shrink 
when washed, make a good suds of hard soap, and wash the flannels in it. 
Do not rub woolens like cotton cloth, but simply squeeze them between the 
hands, or slightly pound them with a clothes pounder. The suds used 
should be strong, and the woolens should be rinsed in warm water. By 
rubbing flannels on a board, and rinsing them in cold water, they soon 
become very thick. 

Scorched Linen. —Peel and slice two onions; extract the juice by pound¬ 
ing and squeezing; add to the juice half an ounce ol cut fine white soap, two 
ounces of fuller’s earth, and half a pint of vinegar; boil all together. When 
cool, spread it over the scorched linen and let it dry on; then wash and boil 
out the linen, and the spots will disappear, unless burned so badly as to 
break the thread. 

To Whiten Linen. —Stains occasioned by fruit, iron rust, and other 
similar causes, may be removed by applying to the parts injured a weak 
solution of the chloride of lime—the cloth having been well washed—or of 
soda, oxalic acid, or salts of lemon, in warm water. The parts subjected to 
this operation should be subsequently well rinsed in soft clear warm water, 
without soap, and be immediately dried in the sun. 

To Prevent Streaking. —Do not let your laundress or washerwoman 
put clothes into the bluing water until they have been well shaken’; if tossed 
in while folded, as they come through the wringer they are almost certain to 
be streaked with bluing, and although after repeated washings these streaks 
will come out, every one knows how aggravating it is to use napkins or 
handkerchiefs that show traces of careless washing. 

Washing Merinos and Silk. —The following directions for washing 
merinos, lambswool and silk under-clothing may be useful: Use one pound 
of dissolved soap in four gallons of warm water, in which well rinse the 
articles to be washed, drawing them repeatedly through the hand, wring 
them as dry as possible to remove the soap; rinse them again briskly in 
clean, lukewarm water; wring and stretch them to their proper shape, and 
dry in open air if possible. 

Ta Wash a Muslin Dress-Make a good lather, and wash the muslin 
in cold water, never putting it into warm water, even to rinse it. If the 
muslin is green, add a wineglassful of vinegar to the water in which it is 
rinsed; if lilac, the same quantity of ammonia. For black and white muslins, 
use a small quantity of sugar of lead. 

To Remove Rust from Linen— Dissolve an ounce of oxalic acid in a 
pint of water, apply liberally to the spots of iron rust, then expose them to 
the sun’s rays for half a day. The same will remove ink stains, but in 
either case it must have the first chance—that is, before soap suds or any 
other application. Label the bottle poison! 

To Wash a Cambric Handkerchief— To wash a fine cambric hand¬ 
kerchief, embroidered in colored silks, so that the colors do not run, the 
secret is to wash in a soap lather very quickly, wring thoroughly and then 
iron, so that it dries at once. There should be no soaking, and the em¬ 
broidered corner should be kept out of the water as much as possible. A 
little alum m the water will make the process more sure. 


THE LAUNDRY. 


481 


To Prevent Spotting— A teaspoonful of black pepper will prevent gray 
or buff linens from spotting, if stirred into the first water in which they are 
washed. It will also prevent the colors running, when washing black or 
colored cambrics or muslins, and the water is not injured by it, but just as 
soft as before the pepper w r as put in. 

To Prevent Lumps in Starch—To keep flour starch from lumping, 
mix the flour with water first, then remove the boiling water from the fire 
for a minute before stirring in the mixture, or it will cook into lumps before 
it reaches the bottom. It is well toj remember this in making gruel, corn¬ 
starch, etc. 

Iron Rust— Iron rust, it is said, may be removed by tying a little cream 
of tartar in the stained spot before putting the cloth to boil. If this does not 
succeed, thicken lemon juice with equal parts of salt and starch, add some 
soft soap, apply the mixture to the cloth, and lay it in the hot sun. Renew 
the application several times. 

To Make Potato Starch. —Grate six medium-sized potatoes and mix 
thoroughly with one gallon of water; sti'ain through a coarse towel, let settle, 
drain off the water, and turn on another gallon of clear water, and let settle 
again; drain again, put in an earthen dish, and set in a warm place (not too 
warm) to dry. Use same as corn-stareh for starching clothes. 

Towels Should he Thoroughly Dried— Many persons iron towels, 
fold them and put them away before they are thoroughly dry. This is an 
error, and sometimes leads to results not expected. In their damp condi¬ 
tion there is a mold which forms on them called oidium, one variety of which 
causes numerous skin diseases. 

To Save Soap. —The addition of three-quarters of an ounce of borax to 
a pound of soap, melted in without boiling, makes a saving of one-half in 
the cost of soap, and three-fourths the labor of washing, and improves the 
whiteness of the fabrics; besides, the usual caustic effect is removed, and 
the hands are left with a peculiar soft and silky feeling, leaving nothing 
more to be desired by the most ambitious washerwoman. 

To Wlxiteu Yellow Linen. Linen garments which have become yel¬ 
low from time, may be whitened by being boiled in a lather made of milk and 
pure white soap, a pound of the latter to a gallon of the former. After the 
boiling process the linen should be twice rinsed, a little blue being added 
to the last water used. 

Alum in Starch. —For starching muslins, ginghams, and calicoes, dis¬ 
solve a piece of alum the size of a shellbark, for every pint of starch, and 
add to it. By so doing the colors will keep bright for a long time, which is 
verv desirable when dresses must be often washed, and the cost is but a 
trifle. 

To Prevent Calico from Fading. —To render the colors of cotton 
fabric permanent, dissolve three gills of salt in four quarts of water; put the 
calico in Avhile hot, and leave it till cold; it will not fade by subsequent 
washing. 

To Prevent the Iron from Sticking. —A spoonful of kerosene oil put 
ip to cold starch will prevent the iron from sticking, 




482 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


To Restore Failed Blue Stockings. —Pale blue stockings which have 
faded can have the color restored by dipping into hot water in which com¬ 
mon bluing has been poured and some lumps of alum are dissolved. Old 
white stockings can be colored in this way and do a good deal of service. 

To Wash Colored Table Linen. —To wash colored table linen use 
tepid water, with a little powdered borax; wash quickly, using but little 
soap, and rinse in tepid water containing boiled starch; dry in the shade, 
and when almost dry, iron. 

To Cleanse Black Caslunere. —To clean black cashmere, wash in hot 
suds in which a little borax has been placed. Rinse in bluing water—very 
blue—and iron while damp. If carefully done the material will look equal 
to new. 

To Clean Rusty Flat-Irons.—Beeswax and salt will make your rusty 
flat-irons as clean and as smooth as glass. Tie a lump of wax in a rag and 
keep it for that purpose. When the irons are hot, rub them first with the 
wax rag, then scour them with a paper or cloth sprinkled with salt. 

To Clean White Worsted Goods—For cleansing white worsted hoods, 
and clouds, or nubias, rub them thoroughly with wheat flour, then shake 
well, to remove the flour, and they will have all the clear, airy appearance 
of new. 

To Iron a Calico Dress. —Never iron a calico dress on the right side; if 
ironed smoothly on the wrong side there will be no danger of white spots 
and gloss, which gives a new dress “ done up ” for the first time the appear¬ 
ance of a time- worn garment. 

For Taking Out Scorch. —If a shirt bosom or any other article has 
been scorched in ironing, lay it where bright sun will fall directly on it. It 
will take it entirely out. 






HINTS AND HELPS 


For the Removal of Stains and Spots —The following methods of re¬ 
moving spots and stains from clothing are given on the authority of high 
ehemical and textile authorities. They are believed to be trustworthy: 

Mattel' Adhering Mechanic all g.— Beating, brushing and currents of water, 
cither on the upper or under side. 

Gum, Sugar, JeUg, etc.— Simply washing with water at a hand heat. 

Grease.— White goods, wash with soap or alkaline lyes. Colored cottons, 
wash with lukewarm soap lyes. Colored woolens, the same or ammonia. 
Silks, absorb the grease with French chalk or fuller’s earth, and dissolve 
away with benzine or ether. 

Oil Colors, Varnish, and lies ins. —On white or colored linens, cottons or 
woolens, use rectified oil of turpentine, alcohol, lye and soap. On silks, use 
benzine, ether and mild soap, very cautiously. 

Stearine. —In all cases, use strong, pure alcohol. 

Vegetable Colors, Fruit, lied Wine and lied Ink. —On white goods, sulphur 
fumes or chlorine water. Colored cottons and woolens, wash with lukewarm 
soap-lye or ammonia. Silk, the same, but more cautiously. 

Alizarine Inks. —White goods, tartaric acid, the more concentrated the 
older the spots are. On colored cottons and woolens, and on silks, dilute 
tartaric acid should be applied cautiously. 

Blood and Albuminoid Matters. —Steeping in lukewarm water. If pepsin 
or the juice of Carica papaya can be procured, the spots are first softened 
with lukewarm water, and then either of these substances is applied. 

Iron Spots and Black Ink. —White goods, hot oxalic acid, dilute muriatic 
acid, with little fragments of tin. Ou fast dyed cottons and woolens, citric 
acid cautiously and repeatedly applied. Silks, impossible. 

Lime and Alkalies. —White goods, simple washing. Colored cottons, 
Avoolens and silks are moistened, and very dilute citric acid is applied with 
the finger end. 

Acids, Vinegar, Sour Wine, Must, Sour Fruits. —White goods, simple 
washing, followed up by chlorine water if a fruit color accompanies the acid. 
Colored cottons, woolens and silks are very carefully moistened with dilute 
ammonia, with the finger end. (In case of delicate colors, it will be found 
preferable to make some prepared chalk into a thin paste with water, and 
apply it to the spots.) 

Tannin from Chestnuts, Green Walnuts, etc., or Leather. —White goods, hot 
chlorine water and concentrated tartaric acid. Colored cottons, woolens, 
and silks, apply dilute chlorine water cautiously to the spot, washing it 
away, and reapplying it several times. 

Tar, Cart-wheel Grease, Mixtures of Fat, Resin, Carbon and Acetic Acid. 
—On white goods, soap and oil turpentine, alternating with streams of water. 
Colored cottons and woolens, rub in with lard, let lie, soap, let lie again, and 
treat alternating with oil of turpentine and water. Silks the same, more 
carefully, using benzine instead of oil of turpentine, 



484 


THE HOUSE HO LI), 


Scorching .—White goods, rub well with linen rags, dipped in chlorine 
water. Colored cottons, re-dye if possible; in woolen, raise a fresh surface. 
Silks, no remedy. 

Coloring Recipes. —In using the following recipes remember that the 
goods should always be wet in hot soapsuds before they are put iuto the 
dye. Be very careful to have the materials thoroughly dissolved and keep 
the dye hot, constantly stirring the goods, lifting them up to the air and 
turning them over. 

Brown. —For five pounds of goods allow one pound of catechu and two 
ounces of alum, dissolved in sufficient hot water to wet the goods. Tut this 
in a brass kettle or tin boiler on the stove, and when it is boiling hot put in 
the goods and remove it from the stove. Have ready four ounces of bi¬ 
chromate of potash dissolved in hot water in a wooden pail. Drain the 
goods from the catechu and dip them into the bi-cliromate of potash, then 
back into the catechu again. Proceed in this way, dipping into each alter¬ 
nately until the required shade is produced. Tiiis colors a nice brown on 
cotton, woolen, or silk. 

Blue ( on cotton).—- Dissolve four ounces of copperas in three or four gal¬ 
lons of water. Soak the .goods thoroughly in this, and then drain and trans¬ 
fer to a solution of two ounces of prussiate of potash in the same quantity of 
water. Lift the goods from this and put them to drain, then add to the 
prussiate of potash solution one-half ounce of oil of vitriol, being careful to 
pour in a few drops only at a time; stir thoroughly, return the goods, and 
as soon as of the desired shade linse them in clear water and dry. This 
will color five pounds. 

Yellow {on cotton). —For five pounds of goods, dissolve one pound of 
sugar of lead in enough water to thoroughly saturate the goods, and one- 
half pound of bi-chromate of potash in the same quantity of water in a sepa¬ 
rate vessel. Dip the goods well, and drain in each alternately until the de¬ 
sired shade is secured, then rinse and dry. If an orange is desired, dip the 
yellow rags into strong, hot lime water before rinsing. 

Green {on cotton). —First color blue, and then proceed as in yellow. 

Turkey Bed {on cotton). —For four pounds of cloth, take one pound of 
sumac in enough soft water to cover the cloth in a tub, soak over nigl t, 
wring out and rinse in soft water. Take two ounces of muriate of tin in clear 
soft Avater, put in the cloth and let it remain fifteen minutes. Put three 
pounds of bur wood in cold soft A\ r ater, in a boiler on a stove, and nearly 
boil, then partly cool, then put in the cloth and boil one hour. Take out 
the cloth and add to the Avater in the boiler one ounce of oil of vitriol, put 
in the cloth aud boil fifteen minutes. Rinse in cold Avater. 

Bark Brown. —For dark broAvn, four ounces of blue vitriol, tAvo pounds 
of cutch, and six ounces of bi-chromate of potash. This is for ten pounds of 
cloth. Put the cutch in an iron kettle, in cold Avater enough to cover the 
cloth, heat until dissolved, dissolve the vitriol, and add it to the dye, put in 
the cloth and scald it an hour or more. Wring it from the dye, dissolve the 
bi-chromate of potash in boiling Avater in brass, and put in the cloth for 
fifteen minutes. 

Canary {on cotton). —Take one-half pound of sugar of load, and dissolve 
it in hot Avater. Dissolve one-fourth pound of bi-cliromate of potash in cold 
Avater in a Avooden vessel. Dip the goods first in the lead Avater, then in the 
potash, so continuing until the color suits. This quantity Avill color live 
pounds of rags, 


Hints and helps. 


485 


Several Ways lo Clean and Polisli Brass or Copper._ 1 . First re¬ 

move all the stains, by nibbing the brass with a flannel dipped in vinegar; 
then polish with a leather and dry rotten-stone. 

2. Rub the surface of the metal with rotten-stone and sweet oil, then rub 
oft' with a piece of cotton flannel, and polish with a piece of soft leather. A 
solution of oxalic acid rubbed over brass soon removes the tarnish, render¬ 
ing the metal bright. The acid must be washed off with water, and the 
brass rubbed with whiting and soft leather. A mixture of muriatic acid and 
alum dissolved in water imparts a golden color to brass articles that are 
steeped in it for a few seconds. 

3. Brass ornaments should be first washed with a strong lye made of 
rock alum, in the proportion of one ounce of alum to a pint of water. When 
dry, rub with leather and fine tripoli. This will give to brass the brilliancy 
of gold. 

4. Copper utensils or brass articles may be as 'thoroughly cleaned and 
look as bright by washing them with a solution of salt and vinegar as by 
using oxalic acid, and the advantage of running no risk of poisoning either 
children or eareless persons. Use as much salt as the vinegar will dissolve, 
and apply with a woolen rag, rubbing vigorously, then polish with pulver¬ 
ized chalk, and the article will look like new, with little labor, as the acid of 
the vinegar is very efficient in removing all stains from either copper or 
brass. 

5. The quickest and easiest way to brighten copper or brass, is to wet a 
cloth in a strong solution of oxalic acid, and rub till it is clear, then dip a 
dry flannel into tripoli or prepared chalk, and rub it well. 

6. A good paste for cleaning brass may be made by mixing one part ox¬ 
alic acid and six parts rotten stone, with equal parts of train oil and spirits 
of turpentine, making a thick paste of the whole. 

7. Clean brass with a solution made by dissolving one tablespoonful ox¬ 
alic acid and two tablespoonfuls tripoli in a half pint of soft water. Apply 
with a woolen rag, and after a few minutes wipe dry and polish. 

8. Wash with warm water to remove grease, then rub with a mixture of 
rotten-stone, soft soap, and oil of turpentine, mixed to the consistence of 
stiff putty. The stone should be powdered very fine and sifted; and a quan¬ 
tity of the mixture maybe made sufficient to last for a long time. A little of 
the above mixture should be mixed with w r ater, rubbed over the metal, then 
rubbed briskly with a dry, clean -rag or leather, and a beautiful polish will 
be obtained. 

Protection Against Moths. —In May the clothes-moth begins to fly 
about our rooms. It is a small, light, buff-colored “ miller,” dainty and 
beautiful on close inspection. Its highest mission seems to be to teach us 
to set our affections only upon incorruptible treasures which “moth and 
rust cannot destroy.” But it is necessary to keep a sharp lookout for the 
safety of our furs and flannels, and avc must wage war upon it. In the first 
place we must carefully put aAvay everything w r e can, upon which it will lay 
its eggs. If we pack away our furs and flannels early in May, before the 
moth has begun to lay its eggs, and leave them in boxes and bags so tight 
that the flying moth cannot squeeze in, no further precaution is necessary. 
Clean paper bags are recommended for this purpose—those used for flour 
and meal bags. They should bo without holes or opening anywhere. These 
bags, when filled and closed firmly, may be put aw r ay on closet shelves oi in 
loose boxes, without danger to their contents, so far as moths are concerned, 


43G 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


without need of camphor or other strong odors to drive moths away. Furs 
are usually sold in boxes in which they may be kept. Beat them well when 
you finally put them away for the season. If you delay putting them away 
until June, examine the furs well, and shake and beat them very thoroughly, 
in order that any moth eggs that may possibly have been laid in them may 
be thoroughly removed or killed. Furs sealed up early in May need no 
camphor or tobacco or other preventive. Muff and tippet boxes should be 
tied up securely in bags, or made safe by mending holes and pasting a strip 
of paper around the juncture of the cover with the box below, so as to close 
all openings. Woolen garments must not hang in closets through the sum¬ 
mer, in parts of the country where moths abound. They should be packe l 
away in tight trunks or boxes, or sealed up in bags. Woolen blankets must 
be well shaken and carefully put away, unless they are in daily use. Early 
in June the larvae of the moth begin their ravages, and then, unless you 
dwell in places where moths are not found, look sharp, or you will find 
some precious thing that you have forgotten—some good coat unused for a 
few weeks, or the woolen cover of a neglected piano, already more or less 
riddled by the voracious moths. It is their nature to eat until they have 
grown strong enough to retire from the eating business, and go into the 
chrysalis condition. 

Some things cannot be well packed away in tight boxes and bags, and 
among these it is well to scatter small lumps of camphor or clippings of 
Russia leather. Some use tobacco, though I think camphor is usually pre¬ 
ferred. It is said that powdered black pepper, scattered under the edge of 
carpets, will preserve them from attacks. 

Several Ways to Destroy Ants. —put red pepper in the places the 
ants frequent the most, and scrub the shelves or drawers with strong 
carbolic soap. 

A small bag of sulphur kept iu a drawer or cupboard, or saucers of olive 
tar set where they are, will drive them away. 

A string wet in kerosene oil and tied around sugar barrels, lard cans, 
preserves, etc., is said to keep away ants. The string should be wet with 
the oil every few days. 

Ants may be driven away by putting Scotch snuff wherever they are in 
the habit of going for food, 

A small spray of wormwood if placed on buttery shelves, will, it is said, 
destroy or drive away ants. 

Persons who are troubled with ants in their houses may get rid of them 
by rubbing the shelves with gum camphor. Two applications will be 
sufficient, with a week intervening. 

A strong solution of carbolic acid and water, poured into holes, kills all 
the ants it touches, and the survivors immediately take themselves off. 

Ants that frequent houses or gardens may be destroyed by taking flour 
of brimstone half a pound, and potash four ounces; and set them in an iron 
or earthen pan over the fire until dissolved and united; afterward beat them 
to a powder, and infuse a little of this powder in water—and wherever you 
sprinkle it the ants will die or leave the place. 

Red ants may be banished from a pantry or store-room by strewing the 
shelves with a small quantity of cloves, either whole or ground. We use the 
former, as not being so likely to get in the food placed upon the shelves. 
The cloves should be renewed occasionally, as after a time they lose their 
strength and decay. 






HINTS AND HELPS. 


487 


To Make an iEolian Harp. —This instrument, when placed in a win¬ 
dow in a draft of air, produces the most pleasing music. We here give 
directions whereby any one may construct one for himself: Length, thirty- 
two inches by six inches; depth, one and three-quarter inches. The strings 
are attached to the small lioohs at the end, corresponding to the pegs.. The 
strings must be about the thickness of the first string of the violin. These 
strings answer well, but if too expensive the small gut used by whip manu¬ 
facturers may be used. The bottom plank of the harp should be oak, three- 
quarters of an inch thick, length three feet, breadth ten inches. The bridges 
may be any sonorous wood (but steel will give the best sound), half an inch 
in height, cut angular to a blunt point. They must not be flattened down, 
but must be made to fit very flat to the bottom board, or it will jar and never 
play well. This is the great defect in all harps made by amateurs. The 
ends of the harps should be oak, one inch thick, and must be fixed very 
firmly to the bottom board, but not with metal screws or glue; and in these 
the pins are fixed for tightening the strings. Use fiddle pins, half at each 
end. The top should be half an inch thick, and sycamore wood is the best, 
and may be polished; it should be very slightly fastened on, for it has to be 
removed every time to tune. Common catgut does nearly as well as Ger¬ 
man. Get as thick a string as you can for one side, and a thin one for the 
other; then graduate them from the thick to the thin, so as net to have two 
alike. They are in general tuned to treble C, but it is preferable to tune to 
low C, and then each string an octave higher. This is easily altered, if 
desirable. The instrument must be very strong in all respects, for the 
strings exert almost incredible strength. The position for placing 
the harp at the window to be with the upper surface inclined towards 
the draft of air. 

Staining Woods. — Rosewood. —Boil eight ounces of logwood in three 
pints of water until reduced to half; apply it boiling hot two or three times, 
letting it dry each time. Put in the streaks with a camel’s hair brush dipped 
in a solution of copperas and verdigris in a decoction of logwood. 

Light Mahogany. —Brush over the surface with diluted nitrous acid, and 
when dry apply with a soft brush the following: Four ounces of dragon’s 
blood, one ounce of carbonate of soda, three pints of alcohol. Let it stand 
in a warm place, shake it frequently and then strain. 

To Stain Musical Instruments. —Boil one pound of ground Brazil wood 
in three quarts of water for one hour; strain it, then add half an ounce of 
cochineal; boil a half hour longer. This makes a crimson stain. 

Ebony. —Wash the wood several times with a solution of sulphate of iron; 
let it dry, then apply a hot decoction of logwood and mitgalls. When dry 
wipe it with a wet sponge; and when dry again polish it with linseed oil. 

Black Walnut. —Pine may be stained to represent black walnut in the 
following manner: Put pulverized asphaltum into a bowl with about twice its 
bulk of turpentine and set where it is warm, shaking from time to time until 
dissolved; then strain and apply with either a cloth or a stiff brush. Try a 
little first, and if the stain be too dark, thin it with turpentine. If desirable 
to bring out the grain still more, give a coat of boiled oil and turpentine. 
When the wood is thoroughly dry, polish with a mixture of two parts shellac 
varnish and one part boiled oil. Apply by putting a few drops at a time on 
a cloth and rubbing briskly over the wood. 

Oak. —A very fair oak stain may be produced by equal parts of potash 
and pearlash, say two ounces of each to about a quart of water. Keep it 


48 a TEE E o US Elio L I) . 

corked up in a bottle, and it is always ready for use; if it strikes too deep a 
color, add more water. 

Staining with Iodine .—Wood may acquire an oak, walnut, or cherry tree 
color by staining it with ordinary tincture of iodine diluted with spirit until 
the exact shade is obtained. While shellac must be added to the iodine 
solution if the stain is to be made permanent, or the wood after the stain is 
applied may be French polished. The iodine may be laid on with a rag or a 
brush. 

Purple.— Boil a pound of chip logwood in three quarts of water for an 

hour; then add four ounces of alum. 

Blue .—Boil four parts of alum with eighty-five parts of water. 

Hanging Wall Paper.—There are many housekeepers who have one 
or more rooms they would like to re-paper, but are kept from doing as much 
of this kind of work as they would like on account of the expense of getting 
a professional paper-hanger to put the paper on. Any one who takes the 
pain 3 to notice, can soon learn to put on paper as well as the best paper- 
hanger. In the first place, you can often find among the cheap papers one 
or more lots that look just as well, and are of as good quality as the more 
expensive ones. When you have got your paper home, trim off the edge on 
the right side, as it is better for an inexperienced hand to commence at the 
left side of a door or window, and go toward the left. When you are ready 
to begin, make your paste with boiling water, and let it boil about as long as 
common starch, and it should be no thicker than starch after it is cold Let 
it cool and strain it through a common salt sack to take out the lumps. 
Then take a piece of washing soda as large as a walnut with the hull off, 
dissolve it in water, and put it in the paste and you need not use any glue or 
anything else whatever. Let an assistant hold the paper up to the wall, so 
that it will match with the piece already on, and cut it off the right length, 
always half an inch short, as it will stretch that much. Lay the paper 
wrong side up on a large table; let your help hold one end while you put on 
the paste quickly and evenly with a whitewash brush. Be sure to get every 
part covered. Take hold of the upper end, while your assistant takes the 
lower end, fasten it at the top, then sweep it down with a soft broom or 
brush, pick all windy places with a pin, and pat gently with a soft cloth. If 
it should become fast at the bottom too soon for the rest, pull it out carefully 
from the wall and replace it again. Paper put on with washing soda iu the 
paste will not crack and come loose on greasy walls, as it often does without it. 
Try this plan, and your rooms will look nice and new with but little expense. 

Table Etiquette. —There is nothing so disagreeable as cai'eless and 
untidy table-manners; and to acquire graceful and pleasing habits wiiilo 
eating, sometimes takes years of practice. But it can be done; wo see every¬ 
where ladies and gentlemen, and sometimes children, who show their good 
breeding by their conduct at the table. To begin to make yourselves like 
these, the first thing to do is to sit down and think how you really behave at 
the table. Are your hands and nails, and face clean, and hair brushed 
back smoothly ? Do you seat yourself quietly, and remember to put on your 
napkin ? Do you sometimes put your knifo in your mouth, instead of a fork 
or spoon ? Do you pour your tea in your saucer, instead of drinking fror.v 
the cup ? How do you pass your plate, if you arc to be helped a second 
time ? The best way is to hold your knife or fork in your hand, and then it 
will not fall on the cloth. 


HINTS AND HELPS. 480 

Then about passing articles of food: Do you reach over another person’s 
plate, or stand up to reach something not near at hand, and knock over a 
glass or cruet in the attempt? Do you eat fast and loud, and put large 
pieces in your mouth, or speak with food unchewed, or pick your teeth ? 
Oh, I hope none of these, for any one of them would make you appear im¬ 
polite and uncultivated. And then you remember not to whisper, yawn, or 
stretch, or touch the hair, or blow the nose. If it is necessary to use your 
handkerchief, do it so quietly that no one will notice it; but this should be 
done before you come to the table. And if there are bones, cherry pits, and 
things that cannot be swallowed, do not spit them on the plate, but put them 
on your spoon, and then on your plate. 

Will you think of these hints the next time you sit down to your dinner, 
and avoid them ? And remember that courtesy at the table is as indispensa¬ 
ble as away from it, and if you practice it at home, j r ou will not have to put 
it on when you are away, it will be so natural and easy for you. 

To Cun Corn, Beans, Etc. —After stripping off the husks and picking 
off the silk, slice off carefully about half or two-thirds of the corn, with a 
sharp knife; then, with the back of the blade, press or scrape off that part of 
the kernels left on the cob. This prevents cutting of the cob. Fill the can 
about one-third, and with the small end of a potato masher, or other stick, 
gently pack it down; put in more corn and pack again, and continue until 
the can is full to the very top. Put on the rubber, and screw the top on 
very tight. Put some cloth, hay or straw in the bottom of the wash boiler 
and on it set (or lay) the tilled cans. Fill the boiler with cold water, being 
careful to cover the cans with it; set over the fire, and boil for three hours 
or more. Do not fear that the cans will burst, even if very tightly screwed 
down. When you take them out, try if it is possible to screw the cover on 
more securely. After the jars are cool, wrap each one in paper, and set 
away in the dark. This is essential. This process succeeds perfectly, 
absolutely without a failure. Succotash is put up in the same way, and so 
are green beans and string beans. Peas you cannot pack—shake down very 
closely- -put on rubbers, screw r on cover, and boil in the same manner as 
directed lor the corn. They will shrink in the can—corn will not if packed 
hard. 

Furniture Polish.—(1) Take beeswax and turpentine in the proportion 
of two ounces of the former to half a pint of the latter. Put the turpentine 
in a tin basin and cut the beesw r ax in small pieces and put in, then put in 
the oven when not very hot, so it (the v r ax) will gradually melt; stir it con¬ 
stantly. Apply to the furniture with a piece ©f w'oolen rag (a piece of broad¬ 
cloth is best for the purpose), and have another piece to rub with. Don’t 
lie afraid to use plenty of “ elbow grease.” 

(2) One-third of spirits of wine, one-third of vinegar and one-tliird of 
sweet oil; or rather more of the last. Shake the bottle well daily for three 
we eks; it is then fit for use, but the longer it is kept the better it is. The 
firniture must be rubbed till the polish is dry. Use every two or three 
months, and rub the furniture over daily when dusted. For dining-room 
tables and sideboards, use it every week; it makes them beautiiulby 
bright. 

(3) If you wish one of the simplest and best, get a pint bottle and fill it 
with equal parts of boiled linseed oil and kerosene oil; any druggist has the 
former; mix and apply with a flannel, and rub dry with a second flannel. 



490 


THE irOUUEHOLD. 


It will remove all scratches and white marks made by bruising. Destroy 
the rags or keep in open sight, as oiled cloths have been known to ignite 
spontaneously. 

(4) Into one pint of linseed oil put half a pound of treacle and a glass of 
gin; then, stirring well, apply sparingly with a linen rag, and if rubbed until 
quite dry with linen cloths, this mixture will produce a splendid gloss. 
Eating tables should be covered with oilcloth or baize, to prevent staining, 
and be instantly rubbed when the dishes are removed. 

(5) Make a mixture of three parts of linseed oil and one part spirits of 
turpentine. It not only covers the disfigured surface, but restores wood to 
its original color, and leaves a lustre on the surface. Put on with a woolen 
cloth, and when dry rub dow n with woolen. 

(6) A nice furniture polish is made by mixing boiling linseed oil and 
white varnish, using one-fourtli varnish to three-fourths of the oil. Apply 
with a flannel, rubbing thoroughly, and afterwards rubbing -with dry flannel 
or chamois skin. 

(7) Equal quantities of common wax, white wax, white soap, in the pro¬ 
portion of one ounce of each to pint water. Cut the above ingredients fine, 
and dissolve over a fire until well mingled. 

A Very Cheap Red Covering —The American Agriculturist says: 
Many years ago, in one of the severe winters when there was much hardship 
among the poor, a city paper suggested that old newspapers, spread over 
the bed, would form an excellent substitute for blankets and coverlets. 
This brought upon the journal a great deal of harmless ridicule from other 
papers, but it brought comfort to many a poor family. In the matter of bed¬ 
clothing, especially, we are apt to associate warmth with weight, and do not 
consider that there is no warmth in the coverings themselves, but that the} 7 
merely prevent the heat of the body from passing off. Whatever is a poor 
conductor of heat will make a warm covering. Paper itself is a poor con¬ 
ductor, but still poorer are the thin layers of air that are confined when two 
or three newspapers are laid upon one another. A few newspapers laid over 
the bed will keep one much warmer than some of the heavy, close woven 
blankets. We do not propose newspapers as a sxibstitute for blankets and 
comforters, but it is one of those makeshifts that it is well to know. In 
traveling one may, by the aid of a few papers, secure a comfortable rest in a 
thinly-clad bed, and if we cannot afford to give a destitute family a blanket 
or a comforter, we may show them how to increase the usefulness of their 
thin coverings by stitching a few layers of newspapers between them It 
may be well to remind those who grow window plants that, by removing 
them away from the window and arranging a cover of newspapers over them, 
they may be preserved from harm in severely cold nights. With the plants 
as with ourselves, it is not so much that cold comes in as that the heat goes 
off, and often a slight protection will prevent the escape of heat. 

What an Old Housekeeper lias "Leariied. —“Never too old to 
learn,” and here are a few of the things we have learned at our house: 

That ripe cucumbers make a good sweet pickle. 

That a piece of cork is better than cloth for applying brick to knives. 

That clabbered milk is better than water for freshening salfifish. 

That people who chew plenty of good beef and eschew pork are sensible. 

That apples which take a long while to bake, should have a little water 
in the pan. 



HINTS AND HELPS. 49i 

That salt pork will be nearly as nice as fresh, if soaked in sweet milk and 
water, equal parts. 

That if we wish to prolong our lives we should always put one day 
between washing and ironing. 

That liver should be thrown into boiling water after being sliced thin and 
then fried in lard or dripping. 

That pie crust will not be soggy if it is brushed over with the white of an 
egg before the fruit is put in. 

That half a cup of vinegar in the water will make an old fowl cook nearly 
as quick as a young one, and does not injure the flavor in the least. 

That a tough beefsteak may be made eatable by mincing it pretty fine 
with a chopping-knife and cooking quickly in a pot with a close cover, to 
prevent the steam from escaping. 

To Keep Apples—1. Having selected the best fruit, wipe it perfectly 
dry with a fine cloth, then take a jar of suitable size, the inside of which is 
thoroughly coated with cement, and having placed a layer of fine sand per¬ 
fectly dry at the bottom, place thereon a layer of the fruit—apples or pears, 
as the case may be—but not so close as to touch each other, and then a 
layer of sand; and in this way proceed till the vessel is full. Over the upper 
layer of fruit a thick stratum of sand may be spread and lightly pressed 
down with the hands. In this manner choice fruit perfectly ripe may be 
kept for almost any length of time, if the jar be placed in a situation free 
from moisture. 

2. Take fine dry saw'dust, preferably that made by a circular saw from 
well seasoned hard wood, and place a thick layer on bottom of a bax-rel. 
Then place a layer of apples, not close together and not close to staves of 
the barrel. Put saAvdust liberally over and around, and pi-oceed until a 
bushel and a half, or less, are so packed in each barrel. They are to be 
kept in a cool place. 

The Best Kind of Beds. —Do you sleep upon a feather bed ? We hope 
not. Yeai'S ago a feather bed was supposed to be an important part of a 
housekeeping outfit. If you have a feather bed, put it in the spare room, 
lock the door, and loose the key. A curled-hair mattress of the best quality 
makes one of the most desirable couches, but curled hair is expensive and 
all cannot afford it. The next best thing, indeed, almost as good, is afforded 
by that plant, so dear to evei-y American farmer—Indian corn. Whoever 
grows corn, need not lack for the most comfortable of beds. We are aware 
that ticks are sold filled with husks with the stem part left on. A bed of 
this kind is not the kind of husk bed we have in mind. To make the very 
best possible husk bed, save the husks from the green corn as it is daily 
used. The husks are coai'se, and should be slit. An old-fashioned hatchet, 
where there is such an implement, answers well, but a substitute can be 
made by driving a few large nails through a board, and filing them sharp. 
Drawing the husks across these will slit them into shreds an inch or less 
wide. An old carving fork may be used to slit the husks. Then put them 
to dry in a garret or some airy loft. If the green-corn season is past, then, 
at the regular husking of the field crop, secure a stock for mattresses. Re¬ 
ject the weilthor-worn outer husks, taking only the thin, papery ones. 

Artificial Gold. —This is a new metallic alloy which is now very exten¬ 
sively used in Fi’ance as a substitute for gold. Pure copper, one hundred 
parts; zinc, or, preferably, tin, seventeen parts; magnesia, six parts; sal- 


492 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


ammoniac, tliree-sixtlis parts; quick-lime, one-eigktk part; tartar of com¬ 
merce, nine parts, are mixed as follows: The copper is melted first, and the 
magnesia, sal-ammoniac, lime and tartar are then added separately, and by 
degrees, in the form of powder; the whole is now briskly stirred for about 
half an hour, so as to mix thoroughly; and then the zinc is added in small 
grains by throwing it on the surface, and stirring until it is entirely fused; 
the crucible is then covered, and the fusion maintained for about thirty-five 
minutes. The surface is then skimmed, and the alloy is ready for casting. 
It has a fine grain, is malleable, and takes a splendid polish. It does not 
corrode readily, and for many purposes is an excellent substitute for gold. 
When tarnished, its brilliancy can be restored by a little acidulated water. 
If tin be employed instead of zinc, the alloy will be more brilliant. 

To Dye Featliers. — Black .—Immerse for two or three days in a bath, at 
first hot, of logwood, eight parts, and copperas or acetate of iron, one part. 

Blue .—With the indigo vat. 

Brown .—By using any of the brown dyes for silk or woolen. 

Crimson .—A mordant of alum, followed by a hot bath of Brazil wood, 
afterwards by a weak dye of cudbear. 

Pink or Bose .—With saf-flower, or lemon juice. 

Plum .—With the red dye, followed by an alkaline bath. 

Bed .—A mordant of alum, followed by a bath of Brazil-wood. 

Yellow.—A mordant of alum, followed by a bath of turmeric or weld. 

Green .—Take of verdigris and verditer, of each one ounce; gum water, 
one pint; mix them well and dip the feathers (they having been first soaked 
in hot water) into the said mixture. 

Purple .—Use lake and indigo. 

Carnation .—Yermilion and smalt. Thin gum or starch water should be 
used in dyeing feathers. 

To Wash, and Curl Feathers. —Wash in warm soap-suds and rinse in 
water a very little blued, if the feather is white, then let the wind dry it. 
When the curl has come out by washing the feather or getting it damp, place 
a hot flat-iron so that you can hold the feather just above it while curling. 
Take a bone or silver knife and draw the fibers of the feather between the 
thumb and the dull edge of the knife, taking not more than three fibers at 
a time, beginning at the point of the feather and curling one-half the other 
way. The hot iron makes the curl more durable. After a little practice, 
one can make them look as well as new feathers. When swans’ down be¬ 
comes soiled it can be washed and look as well as new. Tack strips on a 
piece of muslin and wash in warm water with white soap, then rinse and 
hang in the wind to dry. Rip from the muslin and rub carefully between 
the fingers to soften the leather. 

To Clean Furs —For dark furs: warm a quantity of new bran in a pan, 
taking care that it does not burn, to prevent which it must be briskly stirred. 
When well warmed, rub it thoroughly into the fur with the hand. Repeat 
this two or three times, then shake the fur, and give it another sharp brush¬ 
ing until free from dust. For white furs: lay them on a table, and rub well 
with bran made moist with warm water; rub until quite dry, and afterward 
with dry bran. The wet bran should be put on with flannel, then dry with 
book muslin. Light furs, in addition to the above, should be well rubbed 
with magnesia or a piece of book muslin, after the bran process, against the 
way of the fur. Soiled white fur can be nicely cleaned by rubbing it thor- 


HINTS AND HELPS. 


493 


oughly iu white flour. It should then be hung out of doors for about thirty 
minutes. liepeat the process several times, and the fur will be equal to 
new. 


All Home-made Refrigerator— Nearly all housekeepers who are not 
able to obtain a refrigerator, keep their ice wrapped up in bits of old car¬ 
peting or some non-conducting material, which wastes the ice, and affords 
no help in preserving food. To them these directions may offer attractions: 
Take two large wooden boxes—dry goods boxes for instance—select the sec¬ 
ond one about a couple of inches smaller on all sides, and bore a one-inch 
hole in both, correspondingly to give drainage and ventilation. Perhaps a 
couple of holes lvould do better. Pill up the space under the boxes with 
powdered charcoal or coal ashes. Put the inner box iu place and till up all 
the spaces with the same. Sawdust might do if nothing better is procurable, 
yet it is apt to become musty. Fix on the lids to both boxes to fit tightly, 
with iron hinges (leather ones can be substituted), and fasten with straps 
of leather, or a lock and key. Put shelves on each side of the inner box by 
means of cleats. Leave a place in the center fi r the ice. This is a rough 
refrigerator, to be sure, but far better than none. A zinc lining, or one ol' 
felting, would improve the inner box. A rack made of lathing can be laid 
at the bottom for the ice to rest upon. Legs can be added to the outer box 
by putting pieces of wood at each corner, and the drainage and ventilation 
will be improved; and an ingenious man can make an excellent ice box in 
this way. 

Cleaning Carpets— In all our own experiments we have found nothing 
so safe and serviceable as bran slightly moistened—only very slightly—just 
sufficient to hold the particles together. In this case it is not necessary to 
stop and clean the broom every few minutes. Sweeping the carpet after 
the bran has been sprinkled over it not only cleans the carpet and gathers 
all the dirt into the bran, but keeps the broom clean at the same time. If 
too much dampened, aside from injuring the carpet it makes the work 
harder, because the bran becomes very heavy if very damp. The bran 
should be sifted evenly over the floor, and then the room swept as usual. 
The bran scours and cleanses the whole fabric, very little dust is made while 
sweeping with it, and scarcely any settles on furniture, pictures, etc., after 
the work is accomplished, because every particle of dirt, thread, bits of 
paper or lint is gathered up into the mass of bran that is being moved over 
the floor, and so thoroughly incorporated with it that it will not be easily 
separated. Carpets swept in this way retain very little dust, as will be 
plainly demonstrated whenever they are taken up to be shaken. 

Hints on Cnk.e Baking. —When cakes are made without yeast or eggs, 
soda and powder being the substitutes, they require quick baking in a 
moderately hot oven, and should be drawn directly when they are done, or 
they get dry and tasteless. For a plain cake, made with one pound of flour, 
etc., the time to be allowed in baking would be from forty to titty minutes, 
at the outside not more than an hour. Yeast cakes take longer—say from 
ten to fifteen minutes—and will bear to be left in the oven rather over the 
time without much injury. Very rich cakes, in which butter and eggs pre¬ 
dominate, take, of course, a much longer time to cook; pound cake taking 
from an hour and a half to two hours, and bride cake three and a half. On 
no account should the oven be too hot when the cakes are put in—that is, 
not hot enough to brown at once; if so, in five minutes the whole outside 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


494 

will be bnrned, and the interior will stand little chance of being cooked. 
The old plan of feeling the handle of the oven door- to test the heat, is not 
always successful; it is better to sprinkle a little flour inside, and shut the 
door for about three minutes; if at the end of that time it is of a rich light 
brown, the cake may be put in; but if burned, the heat must first be lessened. 

Household Conveniences.—There are many little contrivances which 
add much to the comfort of the household, and cost but little money. A 
little forethought often saves time and labor. A calico curtain tacked over 
the wheel of the sewing machine, protects the operator’s dress from grease. 
A small wadded quilt made and kept especially to cover the bread when it 
is set to rise, is much nicer and more cleanly than the old coats and shawls 
which perform that duty in too many households. 

Mothers with several little children who attend school, will save time and 
money by securely fastening each child’s glove to its coat by strong tapes. 
A small table provided with a support which reaches to the floor and 
steadies it, will be found very xiseful in a crowded kitchen. It should be 
attached to the wall by hinges, and when not in use can be folded up, thus 
leaving the space it occupied for other purposes. It can be used for dish 
washing, is a capital place to mold the bread, or to iron upon. A large 
dining-table may be made in the same way, only it must be fastened up 
against the Avail and secured by a button or bolt. 

Mending Rubber Boots.—Procure some pure gum, Avhicli can be 
bought at any Avliolesale rubber house, or you can have your druggist order 
it for you at a cost of about five cents per ounce. At the same time order 
patching, and it is Avell to have two thicknesses for mending different goods. 
Put an ounce or two of gum into three or four times its bulk of benzine, cork 
tightly and allow it to stand four or five days, Avhen it will be dissolved. 
Wet the boots with benzine for an inch or more around the hole and scrape 
with a knife; repeat this Avetting with benzine and scraping sevoral times 
until thoroughly cleaned, and a new surface exposed. Wet the cloth side of 
the patching Avith benzine and give one light scraping, then apply with a 
knife a good coating of the dissoH'ed rubber, both to the boot and patch, 
and alloAv it to dry until it Avill not stick to your fingers, then apply the tivo 
surfaces and press or lightly hammer into as perfect compact as possible, 
and set away for a day or tivo, if possible, before using. If you do not suc¬ 
ceed it Avill not be the fault of the process. 

Upholstering Old Cane Chairs— When the cane seat of a chair is 
broken, it may be made as good as new, or better, by upholstering it at 
home. After removing the superfluous bits of cane, cover the space with 
matting formed of three-inch Avide canvas belting woven together. Tack it 
temporarily in place. After placing over this some coarse muslin, draw 
both smooth, and secure at the edge with twine, making use of the perfora¬ 
tions. Remove the tacks, turn the raw edge over toxvard the center and 
baste it doAvn. Arrange the curled hair and wool, or Avhatever you propose 
to use for stuffing, and keep it in position by basting over it a piece of mus¬ 
lin. Then carefully fit the rep, pin it in different places until you are certain 
it is in perfect shape, and tack it permanently, following, of course, the 
tracing made for the cane. Cover the edge Avith galloon to match the rep, 
using tiny ornamental tacks, and tie Avith an xxpholsterer’s needle in as many 
places as is desirable, leaving a button on the upper side. When the back 
of the chair is to be repaired, a facing must be tacked on the outside. 


HINTS AND HELPS. 495 

Canning Fruit.— Those housekeepers who have uofcbeen successful in 
theii attempts at this work will liud the folloAving a most excellent recipe: 
Place the fruit in either a granite, iron, or porcelain kettle; never use com¬ 
mon iron, brass or tin for this purpose. Allow it to boil for about five min¬ 
utes. Have the jars in readiness, and standing in a vessel of warm Avater, 
so that they may be heated gradually. Jus't before filling the jar with iruit* 
dip a, towel in boiling water and wrap it around the jar, and tuck the corners 
under the bottom for the jar to rest upon. Fill the jar quickly, and when 
full thrust a knife to the bottom and stir it around several times, and the air 
bubbles will rise to the top. Seal as tight as possible, and stand the jar on 
the top in a moderately cool place. In a few hours turn the jar up, and try 
to seal tighter, standing it again on the top. Continue this several times, or 
until the cover is tightly screwed on. Stand the jars in a cool, dark place in 
the cellar, looking at them occasionally for a few days. For several years 
the above has been my method of canning, and I know from experience that 
all varieties of fruits and vegetables can be canned with perfect success in 
this way. 

To Exterminate Bedbugs—(1) Shut the windows tight, leave all 
clothing in its place, and open trunks and drawers. Put a thick layer of 
ashes into the iron kettle, on which place the live coals. Have no obstacles 
between yourself and the open door. Put a handful of sulphur on the 
coals, and immediately close the room, leaving it undisturbed for several 
hours. When opened, the room and contents can be aired, and the odor 
will soon be gone. It is rarely that a second fumigation is necessary. Burn 
sulphur in rooms where there are moths. 

( 2 ) Take two ounces of quicksilver and the whites of two eggs, and so on 
in this ratio for a larger or smaller quantity. Beat the quicksilver and the 
whites together until they unite and become a froth. With a feather then 
apply the compound thus formed to the crevices and holes in your bed¬ 
steads. This done twice in a year will prove effectual. 

( 3 ) Blue ointment and kerosene, mixed in equal proportions and applied 
to bedsteads, is an unfailing bug remedy, and a coat of whitewash is ditto 
for a log house. 

To Determine the Quality of Silk;. —The following directions for 
detecting the spurious from the genuine article in black silk will be found 
useful: Take ten fibres of the filling in any silk, and if on breaking they 
show a feathery, dry, and lack luster condition, discoloring the fingers in 
handling, you may at once be sure of the presence of dye and artificial 
Aveighting. Or take a small portion of the fibres betAveen the thumb and 
forefinger and very gently roll them over and over, and you will soon detect 
the gum, mineral, soap, and other ingredients of the one, and the absence 
of them in the other. A simple but effective test of purity is to burn a small 
quantity of the fibres; pure silk will instantly crisp, leaving only a pure 
charcoal; heavily dyed silk will smolder, leaving a yelloAv, greasy ash. If, 
on the contrary, you cannot break the ten strands, and they are of a natural 
luster and brilliancy, and fail to discolor the fingers at the point of contact, 
you may be avcII assured that you have a pure silk, that is honest in its 
make and durable in its Avear. 

To Prevent Silverware from Tarnishing. —Solid silverware, as Avell 
as plated goods, grows dark and tarnished in a very short time Avhen 
exposed to the air, and even Avhen put away in a dark place. This if* 


496 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


especially the case where hard coal is used in the house or neighborhood, as 
the sulphur in the coal, liberated by heat, is sure to stain all the silverware 
within reach. This annoying tarnishing can be entirely prevented by paint¬ 
ing the silverware with a soft brush dipped in alcohol in which some collo¬ 
dion has been dissolved. The liquid dries immediately and forms a thin, 
transparent and absolutely invisible coating upon the silver, which com¬ 
pletely protects it from all effects of the atmosphere, etc. It can be removed 
at any time by dipping the article in hot water. This recipe has been in use 
for some time in the large establishments at London, where most of the 
goods in the show cases are protected in this manner. 

A Haiuly and Cheap Barometer. —One that answers the purpose of 
indicating the approach of fair or foul weather, can be made as follows: 
Take an eight-ounce bottle, the glass being clear and white, and put into it 
six ounces of the highest colored whiskey to be obtained, and put into it all 
the gum-camplior it will dissolve, and a little more. Set in some con¬ 
venient place. On the approach of rain or bad weather the camphor will 
settle toward the bottom of the bottle; the heavier the rain, or the more 
sultry the weather, the closer the camphor will settle to the bottom. Fair 
weather is indicated by the feather-like appearance of the camphor, which 
rises and lloats in the liquid. If alcohol is used, it must be diluted so that 
it will not be stronger than the whiskey, for if it is, so much of the camphor 
will be held in solution that the atmosphere will have no perceptible effect 
upon it. 

French. Polish. —Many will bo glad to know how the fine origina. polish 
of furniture may be restored, especially in the case of such articles as 
pianos, fancy tables, cabinets, lacquered ware, etc., which have become 
tarnished by use. Make a polish by putting half an ounce of shellac, the 
same quantity of gumlac and a quarter of an ounce of gum sandarac into a 
pint of spirits of wine. Put them all together in a stone bottle near the fire, 
shaking it very often. As soon as the gums are dissolved it is ready tor use. 
Now make a roller of woolen rags—soft old broadcloth will do nicely—put a 
little of the polish on it, and also a few drops of linseed oil. Rub the surface 
to be polished with this, going round and round, over a small space at a 
time, until it begins to be quite smooth. Then finish by a second rubbing 
with spirits cf wine and more of the polish, and your furniture will have a 
brilliant luster, equal to new. 

How to Malce a Hammock. —A comfortable, inexpensive hammock is 
thus made: Bring your old flour barrel from the cellar or 3tore-room, knock 
it to pieces, clean, and paint the staves. Procure a rope four times the 
length, each place where it is to be suspended, and in size a little larger 
tnan a clothes-line. Now halve the rope, double each piece in the middle, 
and commencing two yards or so from the end, weave it over and under 
each stave about three inches from the end of each one, which will bring the 
rope crossed between each; do both sides the same and your hammock is 
complete. 

Fruit Stains. —In the season of fruits, the napkins used at the table, 
and often the handkerchiefs and other articles, will become stained. Those 
who have access to a good drug store can procure a bottle of Javelle water. 
If the stains are wet with this before the articles are put into the wash, they 
will be completely removed. Those who cannot get Javelle water can make 


HINTS AND HELPS. 490 

a solution of chloride of lime. Four ounces of the chloride of lime is to be 
put into a quart of water, in a bottle, and after thorough shaking allow the 
dregs to settle. The clear liquid will remove the stains as readily as Javelle 
water, hut, in using this, one precaution must he observed. Be careful to 
thoroughly rinse the article to which this solution has been applied, in clear 
water, before bringing it in contact with soap. When Javelle water is used, 
this precaution is not necessary; but with the chloride of lime liquid it is, or 
the articles will be harsh and stiff. 

How to Clean Marble-top Furniture. —It may be of some value to 
ho tselceepers who have marble-top furniture to know that the common 
solution of gum arabic is an excellent absorbent, and will remove dirt, etc., 
from the marble. The method of applying is as follows: Brush the dust 
off the piece to be cleaned, then apply with a brush a good coat of gum 
arabic, about the consistency of«thick office mucilage, expose it to the sun 
or dry wind, or both. In a short time it will crack and peel off. If all the 
gum should not peel off, wash it with clean water and a clean cloth. Of 
course if the first application does not have the desired effect, it should be 
applied agaiu. Another method of cleaning marble is to make a paste with 
soft soap and whiting, wash the marble with it, and then leave a coat of 
paste upon it for two or three days. Afterward wash off with warm (not 
hot) water and soap. 

How to Dress a Fowl Properly. —In a large majority of households, 
poultry is thought to be sufficiently cleansed when thoroughly washed, and 
rinsed, in cold water, often after the fowl is cut up ready for cooking, thus 
seriously injuring the flavor of the meat. The proper method is to scald, 
pick, and singe the fowl as usual, and then to soap the fowl thoroughly, with 
the hand or a cloth, rubbing it well. You will be surprised to find so much 
impurity in the soapsuds, in which the fowl has been washed. Use two or 
three rinsing waters and immerse in pure cold water for a few moments. 
Drain and wipe dry. The skin of the fowl is now delicately clean, and if 
placed beside a fowl, dressed in the ordinary way, a vast difference is ob¬ 
served in favor of the clean fowl; be very particular to remove the entrails, 
crop, and gall, without disturbing their contents, and one slight rinsing is 
sufficient, and the delicate flavor preserved. 

Discolorations from Matches. —What neat housekeeper is not annoyed 
when she sees on the spotless woodwork of her door or windows those long 
dark scratches which reveal that some one has tried to light a match by 
drawing it across the paint? Now this is sometimes our experience, for ser¬ 
vants will be forgetful or careless, and the tell-tale scratches greet our eyes 
iu most unlooked-for quarters. But wo have found a remedy for the marks, 
which, as every one knows, quite defy soap and water. Cut a sour orange 
or lemon iu half, apply the cut half to the marks, rubbing for a moment 
quite hard; then wash off with a clean rag, dipped first in water to moisten 
it, and then in whiting, liub well Avith this rag, dry thoroughly, and nine 
times out of ten the ugly mark will vanish. Of course, sometimes they are 
burned in so deeply that they cannot bo quite eradicated. All finger-marks 
on painted Avails, etc., should be rubbed off with a little damp Avhiting in 
the same Avay, and never Avashed Avith soapsuds, Avhich destroys the paint. 

Preserving Glassware. —Almost every drawing-room noAvadays has a 
1 imp of some rich design upon the center-table, and to careful housekeepers 






498 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


it is a vexed problem how to keep lamp cliimney3 from cracking. The 
Diamond is a Leipsic journal devoted to glass matters, and from that we 
clip the following bit of useful information: “ Place your tumblers, chimneys 
or vessels which you desire to keep from cracking, in a pot filled with cold 
water and a little cooking salt; allow the mixture to boil well over a tire, 
and then cool slowly. Glass treated in this way is said not to crack, even if 
exposed to very sudden changes of temperature. Chimneys become very 
durable by this process, which may also be extended to crockery, stone¬ 
ware, porcelain, etc. The process is simply one of annealing, and the 
slower the process, especially the cooling portion of it, the more effective 
will be the work.” 

A Good Cement. _A good cement for mending almost anything may be 
made by mixing together litharge and glycerine to the consistency of thick 
cream or fresh putty. This cement is useful for mending stone jars or any 
coarse earthenware, stopping leaks in seams of tin pans, wash-boilers, cracks 
and holes in iron kettles, etc. Holes an inch in diameter in kettles can be 
filled and used the same for years iu boiling water and feed. It also may 
be used to fasten on lamp-tops, to tighten loose nuts, to secure bolts whose 
nuts are lost, to tighten loose joints of wood or iron, loose boxes in wagon 
hubs, and in a great many other ways. In all cases the articles mended 
should not be used until the cement is hardened, which will require from 
one day to a week, according to the quantity used. This cement will resist 
the action of water, hot or cold, acids, and almost any degree of heat. 

Tlie Best Known Receipt for Corning Beef— Cut the beef in small 
pieces, leaving out the large bones, pack solid in a six-gallon crock with a 
weight on top. Pour over the beef boiling-hot brine made as follows: Two 
gallons of water, three pounds of salt, one ounce of saltpetre, a pound of 
sugar and two large spoonfuls of baking soda. After two weeks, heat and 
skim the brine, and repeat the process whenever you think necessary, but 
uever put the brine on hot after the first time. If the weather is hot you 
cau add a handful of salt and soda at any time, and like all pickling be sure 
the bi’ine covers the beef. If packed in a barrel, a large cloth should be 
securely tied over it iu summer, to secure its contents from flies. The 
nicest vessel to p\it it into is a half barrel earthen jar. 

The Use of a Broom —As simple as the advice may seem, but very few 
people handle a broom properly, although they are accustomed to sweep 
more or less every day of their lives. There is science in handling a broom, 
as well as in many other kinds of labor. Always draw your broom, by lean¬ 
ing the handle forward, because the position of the broom will take the dirt 
along more gently; it will sweep cleaner; it will not wear out the carpet so 
fast. Your broom will be kept in proper shape and not half so much dust 
will be raised to be afterward wiped from your furniture. Most careless 
sweepers thrust their broom forward of them in a sort of a digging way, 
with the handle inclining towards them. This way you will find breaks your 
broom, flirts up more dust, and makes the sweeping much more laborious. 

To Render Leather Waterproof—(1) This simple and effectual rem¬ 
edy is nothing more than a little beeswax and mutton suet, warmed in a 
pipkin until in a liquid state. Then rub some of it lightly over the edges of 
the sole where the stitches are, which will repel the wet, and not iu the least 
prevent the blacking from having the usual effect. 




[HINTS AND HELPS. 


469 

(2) Gum copal varnish applied to soles of boots and shoes, and repeated 
as it dries until the pores are filled and the surface shines like polished 
mahogany, will make the sole waterproof, and it lasts three times longer for 
the application. 

A Good Paste.—To make a paste that will keep, take of wheat flour, one 
ounce; powdered alum, one-half drachm; water sufficient, or eight ounces; 
oil of cloves, or wintergreen, three or four drops. Rub the flour and the 
alum with water to the consistence of milk; place this over a moderate tire 
and stir constantly until the paste drops from the wooden paddle in jelly- 
like flakes and has the appearance of starch. While the mass is still hot, 
add the essential oil and pour the paste into an earthenware pot or open jar 
In the course of about an hour a crust forms on the top; pour gently on this 
an inch of water, more or less. When some paste is wanted, decant the 
water, take out the quantity needed and put some water again on the re¬ 
mainder, repeating the operation each time. Paste may be kept hi this way 
for months, and will never be troubled with flies. 

To Wash. Graining. —Use clear, warm water, no soap, a clean, white 
cloth. Wash only a small place at a time, and wipe dry with another clean, 
white cloth. Do not wet more space than can be dried immediately with the 
dry cloth, as graining must not be left to dry in the atmosphere. It must be 
rubbed dry; hence the necessity of white, dry cloths. If the graining has 
been neglected, or soiled with greasy fingers, or specked by summer growth 
or flies, a little hard soap may be necessary in the first water, but must be 
speedily rinsed off in clear water and wiped dry. But, if possible, avoid 
the use of soap, as it deadens the varnish, however carefully handled, and 
on no account must any soap be rubbed on the cloth. 

To Make a. Cheap Telephone. —Take a wooden tooth-powder box and 
make a hole of about the size of a half crown in the lid and the bottom. 
Take a disk of tinned iron, such as can be had from a preserved meat tin, 
and place it on the outside of the bottom of the box, and fix the cover on 
the other side of it. Then take a small bar-magne , place on one end a 
small cotton or silk reel, and round the reel wind some iron wire, leaving 
the ends loose. Fix one end of the magnet near, as near as possible without 
touching, to the disk, and then one part of the telephone is complete. A 
similar arrangement is needed for the other end. With this one can con¬ 
verse at a distance of about one hundred yards. 

Mosquito Remedy. —To clear a sleeping-room of mosquitoes, take a 
piece of paper rolled around a lead-pencil to form a case, and fill this with 
very dry Pyrethrum powder (Persian insect powder), putting in a little at a 
time, and pressing it down with the pencil. This cartridge, or cigarette, 
may bo set in a cup of sand to hold it erect. An hour before going to bed 
the room is to bo closed, and one of these cartridges burned. A single car¬ 
tridge will answer for a small room, but for a large one two are required. 
Those who have tried this find that it effectually disposes of the mosquitoes. 

To Prevent Fruit Jars Breaking —Canning fruit is hot enough work 
without any hot water or hot jars around. Instead of this, wrap the jars 
with a towel saturated with cold water, and pour in your hot fruit. Any one 
who has not tried it will naturally say: “That is the sure way to break jars.” 

I would say, just try one jar and see. We have canned hundreds of jars, 






500 


THE 110TTSEH0LJK 


oue and two quarts, and have never broken one in filling. I can’t explain 
wliy, but simply know that it is the fact. 

To Cleanse Woodwork. -Save the tea leaves for a few days, then 
steep them in a tin pail or pan for half an hour, strain through a sieve ami 
use the tea to wash all varnished paint. It requires very little “ elbow 
polish,” as the tea acts as a strong detergent, cleansing the paint from all 
impurities, and making the varnish equal to new. It cleans window sashes 
and oil cloths; indeed, any varnished surface is improved by its application. 
It washes window panes and mirrors much better than water, and is excel¬ 
lent for cleaning black walnut picture and looking-glass frames. It will not 
do to wash unvarnished paint with it. Take a small quantity on a damp 
flannel, rub lightly over the surface, and you will be surprised at its effects. 

To Clean Silver Plate. —Hartshorn is one of the best possible ingre¬ 
dients for plate-powder in daily use. It leaves on the silver a deep, dark 
polish, and is less hurtful than any other article. To wash plate carefully 
is first to remove all the grease from it, and this can be done with the use of 
warm water and soap. The water should be as nearly hot as the hand can 
bear it. Then mix as much hartshorn powder as will be required into a 
thick paste with cold water. Smear this lightly over the plate with a piece 
of soft rag, and leave it for some little time to dry. When perfectly dry, 
brush it off quite clean with a soft plate-brush, and polish the plate with a 
dry leather. If the plate be very dirty or much tarnished, spirits of wine 
will be found to answer better than water for mixing the paste". 


To Clean Velvet. —Velvet requires very careful manipulation, as it 
loses its fine appearance if wrung or pressed when it is wet. To remove 
dust, strew very fine dry sand upon the velvet, and brush in the direction of 
the lines until all the sand is removed. The brush must be a new one. To 
remove dirt, dissolve ox gall in nearly boiling water, and add some spirits 
of wine; dip a soft brush in this solution and brush the dirt out of the 
velvet. It may require repeated brushing. After this, hang the velvet Tip 
carefully to dry. For finishing, apply a weak solution of gum, by means of 
a sponge, to the reverse side of the velvet. 


. Canning Sweet Corn. —The “ Oneida Community ” preserves sweet 
corn by cutting the corn raw into tin cans; then fill with cold water even 
with the top of the corn; solder up the can, pricking a small hole in th« 
cover; solder that also. Boil the cans and contents in boiling water two and 
a half hours; then with a hot iron open the small hole and let the gas blow 
out, after which solder up and boil again two and a half hours and set away 
for use, Peas, string beans, and lima beans can be put up in this same 
manner, and they certainly pay for the trouble of putting up. Every family 
should have a soldering apparatus, as it would pay for itself in a very short 
time, and save many trips to the tinner’s. 


To Remove Grease from Carpets. —The following mixture is recom¬ 
mended for taking grease out of carpets: Aqua ammonia, two ounces; soft 
water, one quart; saltpetre, one teaspoonful; shaving soap, one ounce, 
finely scraped. Mix well, shake and let it stand a few hours or days, before 
using, to dissolve the soap. When used pour on enough to cover any grease 
or oil that has been spilled, sponging and rubbing ivell and applying again 
if necessary; then wash off with clear cold water. It is a good mixture to 


l 


i 



HINTS AND HELPS. 


501 


have in the house for many things; is sure death to bed bugs if put in the 
crevices which they inhabit; will remove paint where oil was used in mixing 
it, and will not injure the finest fabrics. 

To Polish Blade Walnut. —To give black walnut a fine polish, so as 
to resemble rich old wood, apply a coat of shellac varnish, and then rub it 
with a smooth piece of pumice stone until dry. Another coat may be given, 
and the rubbing repeated. After this, a coat of polish, made of linseed oil, 
beeswax, and turpentine may be well rubbed in with a dauber, made of a 
piece of sponge tightly wrapped in a piece of fine flannel several times 
folded, and moistened with the polish. If this work is not fine enough, it 
may be smoothed with the finest sandpaper, and the rubbing repeated. In 
the course of time the walnut becomes very dark and rich in color, and in 
every way is superior to that which has been varnished. 

To Clean Britannia Metal. —(1) Rub the article with a piece of flan¬ 
nel moistened with sweet oil; then apply a little pounded rotten-stone or 
polishing paste with the finger till the polish is produced, then wash the 
article with soap and hot water, and when dry, rub with soft wash leather, 
and a little fine whiting. 

(2) To clean britannia metal, use finely powdered whiting, two table- 
spoonfuls of sweet oil and a little yellow soap. Mix with spirits of wine to a 
cream. Rub on with a sponge, wipe off with a soft cloth and polish with a 
chamois skin. 

• 

Care of Clotlies. —Spots of grease may be removed from colored silks 
by putting on them raw starch made into a paste with water. Dust is best 
removed from silk by a soft flannel, from velvet with a brush made 
specially for the purpose. If hats and bonnets when taken from the head 
are brushed and put away in boxes and covered up, instead of being laid 
down anywhere, they will last fresh a long time. Shawls and all articles 
that may be folded should be folded when taken from the person in their 
original creases and laid away. Cloaks should be hung up in place, gloves 
pulled out lengthwise, Avrapped in tissue paper and laid away, laces 
smoothed out and folded, if requisite, so that they will come out of the box 
new and fresh when needed again. A strip of old black broadcloth four or 
five inches wide, rolled up tightly and sewed to keep the roll in place,* is 
better than a sponge or cloth for cleansing black or dark colored clothes. 
Whatever lint comes from it in rubbing is black and does not show. 

Cleaning Black Silk. —One of the things “not generally known, ' at 
least in this country, is the Parisian method of cleaning black silk; the 
modus operandi is very simple, and the result infinitely sup&rior to that 
achieved in any other manner. The silk must be thoroughly brushed and 
wiped with a cloth, then laid flat on a board or table, and well sponged with 
hot coffee, thoroughly freed from sediment by being strained through 
muslin. The silk is sponged on the side intended to show; it is allowed to 
become partially dry, and then ironed on the wrong side. The coflee 
removes every particle of grease, and restores the brilliancy of silk without 
imparting to it either the shiny appearance or cracklv and papery stiffness 
obtained by beer or, indeed, any other liquid. The silk really appears 
thickened by the process, and this good effect is permanent. Our readers 
who will experimentalize on an apron or cravat will never again try any 
other method. 






502 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


How to Clean Wall Paper. —Take off the dust with a soft olotli. Willi 
a little flour and water make a lump of very stiff’ dough, and rub tlic wall 
gently downward, taking the length of the arm at each stroke, and in this 
way go round the room. As the dough becomes dirty, cut the soiled part 
off. In the second round commence the stroke a little above where the last 
one ended, and bo very careful not to cross the paper or to go up again. 
Ordinary papers cleaned in this way will look fresh and bright, and almost 
as good as new. Some papers, however—and these most expensive ones - 
will not clean nicely; and, in order to ascertain whether a paper can bo 
cleaned, it is best to try it in some obscure corner, which will not be noticed 
if the result is unsatisfactory. If there be any broken places in the wall, fill 
them up with a mixture of equal parts of plaster-of-paris and silver-sand, 
made into a paste, with a little water; then cover the place with a little piece 
of paper liko the rest, if it can be had. 

To Make Fruit. Extracts, Etc.—Good alcohol, one quart; oil of lemon, 
two ounces. Break and bruise the peel of four lemons, and add to them 
aleohol for a few days, then filter. For currants, peaches, raspberries, pine¬ 
apples, strawberries, blackberries, etc., take alcohol and Avater half and 
half, and pour over the fruit, entirely coveriug it, and let it stand for a feAV 
days. For essence of cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, A r anilla, etc., pulverize 
either article thoroughly, and put about two ounces of the resulting poAvder 
to each pint of reduced alcohol, agitate the mixture frequently for tAvo 
AA-eeks, then filter and color as desired. 

To Renovate Carpet s.—To one pail of Avarm Avatcr add one pint of ox^ 
gall; dip a soaped flannel into the mixture, and rub well the surface of the 
carpet, piece by piece, riusing it as you proceed with clean, cold water, tak¬ 
ing care not to make the carpet too Avet, and finish off by rubbing with a dry 
coarse cloth. The carpet, of course, must bo well beaten before it is ope¬ 
rated upon. This process is simply and surprisingly effective in renovating 
the colors. The only drawback is the effluvium given off by the gall; but 
this is soon remedied by exposure to the air, or by opening the AA r indows if 
the carpet be laid doAvn. 

Extempore Shade for Reading Lainps._An addition a. shade can 
sometimes be used with comfort, and is made in a moment, as MIoaa^s: Take 
a half sheet of letter paper, or any somewhat similar piece of stiffish paper, 
turn doAA T n about an inch and a half of one side of it, and emphasize the turn 
by a scrape Avith thumb nail or paper cutter. Then open the turned strip 
part Avay and set the strip under the front edge of the shade of tiie lamp, 
between the shade and the frame on which it rests. The rest of the sheet is 
to stand up in front of the shade. The hold of the bent paper will keep the 
sheet against the glass shade, and the paper agreeably modifies the effect of 
the light on the eyes, without keeping any of it from the table. 

To Preserve Hams from Flies. —The best Avav to preserve hams from 
flies is, as soon as they are smoked, to Avrap them in two old newspapers, 
first with one end and again Avith another, and tie the ends of the paper or 
paste them doAvn. Let the string to hang them up by come through the 
paper, being very careful that the hole shall only be large enough to let the 
string through. No insect can get through paper. Woolens and furs can 
* be kept perfectly in the same Avay, being careful that the egg of the moth is 
not previously deposited. 





If IX TV AND HELPS. 


503 


Gilding Withoni n Battery. —Clean the 


silver or other article to he 


"ihletl with a brush and a little ammonia water, until it is evenly bright and 
shows no tarnish. Take a small piece of gold and dissolve it in about four 
times its volume of metallic mercury, which will be accomplished iu a few 
minutes, forming an amalgam. Put a little of the amalgam on a piece of 
dry cloth, rub it on the article to be gilded. Then place on a stone in a 
furnace, and heat to the beginning of redness. After cooling, it must bo 
cleaned with a brush and a little cream of tartar, and a beautiful and per¬ 
manent gilding will be found. 


Fluid for Soldering and Tinning —The following compounds are 
useful for soldering or tinning: Tin—one part muriatic acid, with as much 
ziuc as it will dissolve; add two parts of water and some sal ammoniac. 
Brass and copper—one pound muriatic acid, four ounces ziuc, five ounces 
sal ammoniac. Zinc—one pound muriatic acid, and two ounces sal ammo¬ 
niac, with all the zinc it will dissolve, and three pints of water. Iron—one 
pound of muriatic acid, six ounces sperm tallow, four ounces sal ammoniac. 
Gold and silver—one pound muriatic acid, eight ounces sperm tallow, and 
eight ounces sal ammoniac. 


To Keep Cheese from 3Iold —Dissolve a spoonful of bruised pepper, 
two teaspoonfuls of salt, and the same quantity of boracic acid in a quarter 
of a pint of brandy for a few days; then filter the fluid through a cloth and 
dilute with an equal quantity of water. Some of the preparation is intro¬ 
duced into the cracks of the cheese by means of a feather, or better with a 
small glass syringe. If places which have been nibbled by mice are rubbed 
with the liquid no mold will form. It w r ill put “jumpers ” to flight. 

Grease on Kitchen Floors. —With the greatest care the house-wife will 
occasionally spill a little grease on the kitchen floor. When possible, the best 
thing is immediately to pour over it cold -water, and prevent it penetrating 
the wood. Scrape off all that is possible, rub thickly with soap, and wash off 
with boiling water. When dry, fold thicknesses of brown wrapping paper, 
lay over the spot, and place on it a hot smoothing iron; this will draw much 
of the grease into the paper; then wash again with soap and hot water. T1 i i 
will take out so much of the spot that it will hardly be noticed if daily washed 
off as it draws out of the wood, for every particle has to come out at the top 
of the boards, and the mure persistently one works at it, the sooner it will 
disappear. 

To Clean Gloves. —The following is recommended as the best mode of 
cleaning gloves: Mix one-fourth ounce carbonate of ammonia, one-fourth 
ounce fluid chloroform, one-fourtli ounce sulphuric ether, one quart distilled 
benzine. Pour out a small quantity in a saucer, put on the gloves, and 
wash as if washing the hands, changing solution until gloves are clean; take 
off, squeeze them, replace on hands, and with a clean cloth rub fingers, etc., 
until they are dry and perfectly fitted to the hand This cleaner is also an 
excellent clothes, ribbon and silk cleaner; is perfectly harmless to the most 
delicate tints. Apply with a soft sponge, rubbing gently until spots disap¬ 
pear; care must be taken not to use it near fire, as the benzine is very in¬ 
flammable. 

To Care Meats.—For curing beef, pork, mutton, and hams, the follow¬ 
ing recipe is good: To one gallon of water take one and a half pounds of 


504 


TH E II0 US Eli OLD. 


salt, one-half pound of sugar, oue-lialf ounce each of saltpetre and potash. 
In this ratio the pickle can he increased to any quantity desired. Let these 
be boiled together until all the dirt from the sugar rises to the top and 
is skimmed off. Then throw it into a tub to cool, and when cold, pour it 
over your beef or pork. The meat must be well covered with pickle, and 
should not be put cown for at least two days after killing, during which time 
it should be sprinkled with powdered saltpetre, which removes all the sur¬ 
face blood, etc., leaving the meat fresh and clean. 

Cement for Fastening Instruments in Handles* —A material for 
fasiening knives or forks into their handles, when they have become loosened 
by use, is a much needed article. The best cement for this purpose consists 
of one pound of colophony (purchasable at the druggist’s), and eight ounces 
of sulphur, which are to be melted together and either kept in bars or re¬ 
duced to powder. One part of the powder is to be mixed with half a part of 
iron filings, fine sand, or brickdust, and the cavity of the handle is then to 
be filled with tLis mixture. The stem of the knife or fork is then to be 
heated and inserted into the cavity; and when cold it will be found fixed in 
its place with great tenacity. 

Glue which will Unite even Polished Sieel— -A Turkish receipt for 
a cement used to fasten diamonds and other precious stones to metallic sur¬ 
faces, and which is said to strongly unite even surfaces of polished steel, 
although exposed to moisture, is as follows: Dissolve rive or six bits ot gum 
mastic, each of the size of a large pea, in as much spirits of wine as will 
suffice to render it liquid. In another vessel dissolve in brandy as much 
isinglass, previously softened in water, as will make a two-ounce phial of 
strong glue, adding two bits of gum ammoniac, which mnst be rubbed until 
dissolved. Then mix the whole with heat. Keep in a phial closely stopped. 
When it is to be used set the phial in boiling water. 

Glycerine Leather Polish. —Mix intimately together three or four 
pounds of lamp-black and a half pound of burned bones with five pounds of 
glycerine and five pounds of syrup. Then gently warm two and three- 
quarter ounces of gutta-percha in an iron or copper kettle until it flows 
easily, add ten ounces of olive oil, and when completely dissolved, one 
ounce of stearine. This sohition, w r hile still warm, is poured into the former 
and well mixed. Then add five ounces of gum Senegal dissolved in one and 
a half pounds of water, and a half ounce of lavender or other oils to flavor 
it. For use it is diluted with three or four parts of w’ater. It gives a fine 
polish, is free from acid, and the glycerine keeps the leather soft and pliable. 

French Polish Dressing for Leather. —Mix two pints best vinegar 
■with one pint soft water; stir into it a quarter pound of glue, broken up, 
half a pound logwood chips, one quarter ounce finely-pow r dered indigo, oue- 
quarter ounce of the best soft soap, one-quarter ounce of isinglass; put the 
' mixture over the fire and let it boil ten minutes or more; then strain, bottle 
and cork. When cold, it is fit for use. Apply wfith a sponge. 

To Clean Black Lace. —Ladies w'ho have rolls of old lace put by may 
want to make it fresh again by a simple process. Make some green tea, 
and, while it is boiling hot, hold the lace over it so that it is completely 
steamed, pulling it well out with the hand during the process, and at once 
iron it between paper. 


HINTS AND HELPS. 


505 


Jet Black Varnish —To make a jet black varnish that can be used for 
furniture or for small wood-handles, that will make them smooth and shin¬ 
ing and hard and solid, so that they will not get dim by handling or lose 
their gloss, take of asphaltum, three ounces; boiled oil, lour quarts; burnt 
umber, eight ounces, and enough oil of turpentine to thin. The three iirst 
must be mixed by the aid of heat, and the turpentine gradually added (out 
of doors and away from fire) before the mixture has cooled. The work 
(dry) is given several coats, each being hardened in a japanner’s oven. The 
last coat may be rubbed down, first with tripoli applied on a soft cloth, then 
with a few drops of oil. 

How to Pit Keys Into Hocks. —When it is not convenient to take locks 
apart in the event of keys being lost, stolen, or missing, when you wish to 
fit a new key, take a lighted match or candle and smoke the new key in the 
flame, introduce it carefully into the keyhole, press it firmly against the op¬ 
posing wards of the lock, withdraw it, and the indentations in the smoked 
part of the key will show you exactly where to file. 

To Clean Kid Gloves. —To clean kid gloves, have ready a little new 
milk in one saucer, and a piece of brown soap in another, and a clean cloth 
or towel, folded three or four times. On the cloth spread out the gloves 
smooth and neat. Take a piece of flannel, dip it in the milk, then ruh off a 
good quantity of soap to the wetted flannel, and commence to rub the glove 
toward the fingers, holding it firmly with the left hand. Continue the pro¬ 
cess until the glove, if white, looks of a dingy yellow, though clean; if col¬ 
ored, until it looks dark and spoiled. Lay it to dry, and the operator will 
soon be gratified to see that the old glove looks nearly new. It will be soft, 
glossy, smooth and elastic. 

Remedy tor Plies. —An Irish clergyman, Rev. George Meares Drought, 
believes that he has discovered a remedy against the plague of flies—and a 
very simple and pleasant one—namely: a window-garden of geraniums and 
calceolarias. He says that he had for a long time been congratulating him¬ 
self on his exemption from the plague of flies from which his neighbors suf¬ 
fered, when, at length, in preparing for removal, he sent away his window- 
box of geraniums and calceolarias to his new residence. Immediately, his 
room was a s full of flies as that of any of his neighbors, and so he found out 
that it was his window-garden which saved him. 

A Cement Withstanding Heat and Moisture. —Pure white lead, or 
zinc-white, ground in oil, and used very thick, is an excellent cement for 
mending broken crockery ware; but it takes a very long time to harden. It 
is well to put the mended object in some store-room, and not to look after it 
for several weeks, or even months. It will then be found so firmly united 
that, if ever again broken, it will not part on the line of the former fracture. 

'To Clean Hair Brushes and Combs.—Dissolve a piece of soda in some 
hot Avater, allowing a piece the size of a walnut to a quart of water. Put the 
Avater into a basin, and after combing out the hair from the brushes, dip 
them, bristles doAvnward, into the water and out again, keeping the backs 
and handles as free from the water as possible. Repeat this until the bris¬ 
tles look clean, then rinse the brushes in a little cold water; shake them Avell, 
and Avipe the handles and backs with a tOAvel, but not the bristles, and set the 
brushes to dry in the sun or near the fire, but take care not to put them too 
close to it. Wiping the bristles of a brush makes them soft, as does soap. 


500 


THE HOUSE IIO LI). 


Uses of Paper. —Rubbing with paper is a much nicer way of keeping a 
teakettle, coffeepot and teapot bright and clean than the old way of wash¬ 
ing them in suds. Rubbing with paper is also the best way of polishing 
knives, tinware and spoons; they shine like new silver. For polishing mir¬ 
rors, windows, lamp chimneys, etc., paper is better than dry cloth. Pre¬ 
serves and pickles keep much better if brown paper, instead of cloth, is tied 
over the jar. Canned fruit is not so apt to mold if a piece of writing paper 
cut to fit the can, is laid directly on the fruit. Paper is much better to put 
under a carpet than straw. It is warmer, thinner, and makes less noise 
when one walks on it. 

Stain far Floors. —The best, cheapest and only permanent stain for 
floors is permanganate of potash. You can get it at any drug store. Mix 
about one-quarter ounce to a quart of water. Apply freely and quickly to a 
dry floor with a brush so as to not stain your hands. Repeat the process if 
a very dark color is desired. When dry, oil with burnt linseed oil or bees¬ 
wax and turpentine. You cannot wash this color out, as it actually stains 
the wood. When applying this at first, for a few moments the color is bright 
magenta; but this at once changes to a dark, permanent brown. This 
makes a very cheap stain. 

Dish Wiping.—The following is an arrangement for wiping dishes that 
saves half the risk, while the dishes look nicer and brighter: The only out¬ 
lay required is a half-bushel basket. Set this either in the sink or in a pan. 
Wash the dishes as usual, and put them in a tin pan or pail. Pour boiling 
water over them, rinse them thoroughly, then set them up edgewise in the 
basket, so as to drain. The heat will dry them perfectly, and not a streak or 
particle of lint is to be seen. Five minutes will leave them perfectly dry. 
No one who tries it once will be likely to go back to the old way. 

Grease Spots on Cloth.es.—Grease or paint spots in clothes are easily 
removed by oil of turpentine, or a hot iron pressed on the place over coarse 
brown paper, after scraping all that can be got off with a blunt knife. Stains 
may be removed from light-colored clothes, such as drabs, buffs, or whites, 
with fuller’s earth; but this is apt to take the color out of dark clothes. It 
should be dissolved in a little boiling water, put on the spot when hot, held 
to the fire to dry, and then brushed out. Pitch is removed, first, by rubbing 
the place over with grease or oil, and then taking out the oil by the applica¬ 
tion of spirits of turpentine. 

Uamp Explosions.—Many of these may be prevented by trimming the 
wick daily. When burned for several evenings without trimming, the wick 
becomes black, clogged, and incapable of supplying the oil clearly and 
uniformly, and the chimneys are sometimes filled with flame and smoke, to 
the embarrassment and alarm of those present. Some explosions would be 
prevented by never blowing out the lamp down the chimney; for if the wick 
happens to be too small, the flame may be driven down into the oil. The 
best way is to turn it down with the button until extinguished. 

To Destroy Insect Pests. —It is an undisputed fact that if powdered 
borax is scattered freely where the cockroach has found a hiding place, it 
will not only prevent its remaining, but will destroy it. In the dark and 
sometimes damp closets, under sinks and wash basins, they sometimes 
make their appearance, and it is a good practice to once or twice a year 


HINTS AND HELPS. 


507 


scatter a little of this powder in such places. Nothing but persistent care, 
and absolute and unvarying neatness about closets, cupboards, and cellar 
stairs will prevent insects of various kinds from iinding agreeable homes. 

To Bleach a Straw Bonnet. —First scrub the bonnet well with yellow 
soap and a brush dipped in elean water; after this, put into a box a saucer 
containing burning sulphur; it must remain there a short time, and as soon 
as it is removed, the bonnet must be placed in the box and well covered up, 
so that the sulphuric atmosphere may whiten it; next dissolve a little oxalic 
acid in boiling water. Wash all over the bonnet with a small paint brush; 
put it into a pail of cold water, and let it remain half an hour; then hang it 
out to dry; it must afterward be stiffened with gelatine, dried again, and 
then pressed into shape. 

The Care of Towels. —Never put a new towel in the wash until you 
have overcast the fringed edge. The use of this is obvious the moment one 
is told of it, though a dozen towels might be worn out before one would dis¬ 
cover it. If, when towels are washed, the fringe is shaken well before they 
are hung up to dry, the fresh appearance will be preserved for a long time. 
If vigorously shaken, that is all that is necessary; otherwise it is best to 
have the laundress whip the fringe over the clean back of a kitchen chair. 
This is much better than any combing process. Besides, it does not wear 
the fringe so much. 

To Exterminate Rats and Mice. —Mix powdered nux Vomica with 
oatmeal, and lay it in their haunts, observing proper precaution to prevent 
accidents. Another method is to mix oatmeal with a little powdered phos¬ 
phorus. In respect to rats, another way is to mix arsenic and lard together, 
and spread it on bread, and push a piece into every rat hole; or some small 
pieces of sponge may be fried in dripping or honey, and strewed about for 
them to eat. Or half a pint of plaster of Paris, mixed with one pint of oat¬ 
meal, with prove equally fatal to them. 

Sharpening a Razor. —It has long been known that the simplest 
method of sharpening a razor is to put it for half an hour in water to which 
one-twentieth of its weight of muriatic or sulphuric acid has teen added, 
then lightly wipe it off, and after a few hours set it on a hone. The acid here 
supplies the place of a whetstone by corroding the whole surface uniformly, 
so that nothing further than a smooth polish is necessary. The process 
never injures good blades, while barlly hardened ones are frequently im¬ 
proved by it, although the cause of this improvement remains unexplained. 

Frosting Glass. —The frosty appearance of glass, which we often see 
where it is desired to keep out the sun, or “ man’s observing eye,” is done 
by using a paint composed as follows: Sugar of lead, well ground in oil, 
applied as other paint; then pounded, while fresh, with a wad of batting 
held between the thumb and finger; after which, it is allowed to partially 
dry; then, with a straight-edge laid upon the sash, you run along by the 
side of it a stick sharpened to the width of line you wish to appear in the 
diamonds, figures, or squares, into which you choose to lay it off. 

Mucilage.— A very superior quality of mucilage is made by dissolving 
clear glue in equal volumes of water and strong vinegar, and adding one- 
fourth of an equal quantity of alcohol, and a small quantity of a solution of 


508 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


alum iu water. The action of the vinegar is also due to the acetic acid which 
it contains. This prevents the glue from glutinizing by cooling; but the 
same result may be accomplished by adding a small quantity of nitric acid. 
Some of the preparations offered for sale are merely boiled starch or Hour, 
mixed with nitric acid to prevent the glutinizing. 

Care of Umbrellas. —Most persons, when they come in from the rain, 
put their umbrellas in the rack with the handle upward. They should put 
it downward, because when the handle is upward the water runs down 
inside to the place where the ribs are joined to the handle, and cannot get 
out, but stays, rotting the cloth and rusting the metal until slowly dried 
away. The wire securing the ribs soon rusts and breaks. If placed the 
other end up the water readily runs off, and the umbrella dries almost 
immediately. 

To Restore the Color of Carpets. —A tablespoonful of ammonia in one 
gallon of warm water will often restore the color of carpets, even if injured 
by acid or alkali. If a ceiling has been whitewashed with the carpet down, 
and a few drops should fall, this will remove it. Or, after the carpet is well 
beaten and brushed, scour with oxgall, which will not only extract grease, 
but freshen the colors. One pint of gall in three gallons of warm water will 
do for a large carpet. Table and floor oilcloths may be thus washed. The 
suds left from a wash, when ammonia is used, even if almost cold, cleanses 
floor cloths well. 

How lo Keep Fresh Meat. —Perhaps all our readers are not aware 
that steak (pork and beef), sausages, puddings, etc., can be kept fresh the 
year round, by frying and seasoning when fresh, the same as for the table, 
packing down in crocks or lard cans, and pouring hot lard over them, cover¬ 
ing about an inch. When needed, scrape off the lard, and heat through. 
This is valuable information to farmers and others, who kill and dispose of 
a portion at a low rate. It is impossible to detect any difference between the 
preserved and the recently prepared. 

To Bore Holes in Glass. —Any sharp steel will ctit glass with great 
facility when kept freely wet with camphor dissolved in turpentine. A drill 
may be used, or even the hand alone. A hole may be readily enlarged by a 
round file. The ragged edges of glass may also be thus smoothed with a flat 
file. Flat window glass can be readily sawed by a watch-spring saw, by the 
aid of this solution. In short, the most brittle glass can be wrought almost 
as easily as wood, by the use of drilling tools kept constantly moist with 
camphox-ized oil of turpentine. 

Ink on Books. —To remove ink-stains from a book, first wash the paper 
with warm water, using a camel’s hair pencil for the purpose. By this 
means the surface ink is got rid of. The paper must now be wetted with a 
solution of oxalate of potash, or, better still, oxalic acid, in the proportion of 
one ounce to half a pint of water. The ink stains will immediately disap¬ 
pear. Finally, agaiu wash the stained place with clean water, and dry it 
with white blotting paper. 

To Restore a Cane Chair Bottom. —Turn the chair bottom upward, 
and with hot water and sponge wash the cane work well, so that it is well 
soaked; should it be dirty, use soap; let it dry in the air, and it will be as 
tight and firm as new, provided none of the canes are broken. 


HINTS ANJ) HELPS. 


569 


A Valuable Discovery. —It is said that a lady in Springfield, Mass., 
has been making some interesting experiments in putting up canned goods 
without cooking. Heating the fruit tends more or less to the injury of the 
flavor, and the lady referred to has found that by filling the cans with fruit, 
and then with pure cold water, and allowing them to stand until all the con¬ 
fined air has escaped, the fruit will, if then sealed perfectly, keep indefi¬ 
nitely, without change or loss of original flavor. 

To ( lean Plusb._That plush may be cleaned is a fact of interest; chil¬ 
dren’s plush coats that have become soiled on the front can be softly and 
delicately sponged with a little borax and water, without injury; a teaspoon¬ 
ful of powdered borax to nearly a quart of water is the proper proportion; 
use a very soft sponge—and, by the way, a sponge may be softened by boil¬ 
ing it in clear water; then take it out and rinse it in several waters; if not 
softened sufficiently, repeat the boiling and rinsing process. 

Bottling Fruit. —Have ready some dry glass bottles, wide-mouthed 
and clean. Burn a match in each to exhaust the air; place the fruit quickly 
in each; cork with soft bungs or corks, and put in a cool oven; let them re¬ 
main until the fruit has shrunken one-fourth. Take out the bottles: beat 
the corks well in and cover them with melted rosin. If the fruit has been 
picked dry, and is quite sound, it will keep for months in a cool, dry place, 
and retain all the flavor. 

To Remove Stains from tlie Hands, Etc. —Dampen the hands first in 
water, then rub them with tartaric acid or salt of lemons, as you would with 
soap; rinse them and rub them dry. Tartaric acid or salt of lemons will 
quickly remove stains from white muslins or linens. Put less than half a 
teaspoonful in water; wet the stain with it, and lay it in the sun for an hour; 
wet it once or twice with cold water during the time; if this does not quite 
remove it, repeat the acid water and lay it in the sun. 

Waterproof Blacking. —Dissolve an ounce of borax in water, and in 
this dissolve gum shellac until it is the consistency of thin paste; add lamp¬ 
black to color. This makes a cheap and excellent blacking for boots, giving 
them the polish of new leather. The shellac makes the boots or shoes al¬ 
most entirely waterproof. Camphor dissolved in alcohol added to the black¬ 
ing makes the leather more pliable and keeps it from cracking. This is sold 
at 50 cents for a small bottle. By making it yourself $1 will buy materials 
for a gallon. 

To Renovate Black Clotk.. -Clean the cloth from grease and dirt with 
the following mixture thoroughly dissolved: Aqua ammonia, two ounces; 
soft water, one quart; saltpeter, one teaspoonful; shaving soap, in shavings, 
one ounce. Then when dry, make a strong decoction of logwood by boiling 
the extract in a gallon of s:ft water; strain, and when cool add two ounces 
of gum arabic; apply evenly with a sponge over the surface and hang in the 
shade. When thoroughly dry brush the nap down smooth and it will look 
as well as new. Keep the liquid tightly corked in a bottle. 

To Determine if Fruit Cans are Air Tight. —A lady writes: “ Do you 
wish to know,” said a man of science tome recently, “ how to know that 
your fruit can is certainly air tight?” I was that moment contemplating a 
can which had a little neck on the upper edge, and it was hard to judge 
whether the rubber would effectually keep the air out. The man lighted a 


510 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


bit of paper, put it into the can, slipped the rubber ring over, and put the 
glass cover on. The burning paper exhausted the air, and behold the cover 
was with difficulty removed. 

Cleaning Lamp Chimneys. —Most people, in cleaning lamp chimneys, 
use either a brush made of bristles twisted into a wire, or a rag on the point 
of scissors. Both of these are bad; for without great care the wire or scis¬ 
sors will scratch the glass as a diamond does, which under the expansive 
power of heat soon breaks, as all scratched glass will. If you want a neat 
little thing that costs nothing, and will save half your glass, tie a piece of 
sponge the size of your chimney to a pine stick. 

Filling for Cracks In Floors. —A very complete filling for open cracks 
in floors may be made by thoroughly soaking newspapers in a paste made 
of one pound of flour, three quarts of w r ater and a tablespoonful of alum, 
thoroughly boiled and mixed; make the final mixture about as thick as 
putty, a kind of paper putty, and it will harden like papier mache. 

Painting and Ivalsomining Walls. —Before paint or kalsomine is 
applied to walls every crevice should be filled with plaster or cement. For 
the kalsomine put a quarter of a pound of white glue in cold water over 
night, and heat gradually in the morning until dissolved. Mix eight pounds 
of whiting with hot water, add the dissolved glue and stir together, adding 
warm water until about the consistency of thick cream. Use a kalsomine 
brush, and finish as you go along. If skim milk is used instead of water, 
the glue may be omitted. 

Marine Cline. —This glue resists the action of water, both hot and cold, 
and most of the acids and alkalies. It is made in the following manner: 
Take of gum shellac three parts, and of caoutchouc, or India rubber, one 
part by weight. Dissolve the shellac and rubber in separate vessels, in 
ether, free from alcohol, applying a gentle heat. When thoroughly dissolved, 
mix the two solutions, and keep in a bottle tightly corked. Pieces of wood, 
leather, or other substances, joined together by it, will part at any other 
point than the joint thus made. If the glue be thinned by the admixture of 
ether, and applied as a varnish to leather, along the seams where it is sewed 
together, it renders the joint or seam water tight, and almost impossible to 
separate. 

Artificial Honey—Take ten pounds of Havana sugar, and three pounds 
of water, and forty grains of cream tartar, and ten drops of essence of pep¬ 
permint, and three pounds of honey. First dissolve the sugar in the water 
over a 3low fire, and take off the scum arising therefrom; then dissolve the 
cream tartar in a little warm w r ater, and add with some stirring; then add 
the honey heated to a boiling pitch; then add the essence of peppermint, 
stir a few moments, and let stand until cold, when it will be ready for use. 

Cement to Mend China. —Take a very thick solution of gum arabic, 
and stir into it plaster of Paris, until the mixture is of proper consistency. 
Apply it with a brush to the fractional edges of the chinaware, and stick 
them together. In a few days it will be impossible to break the article in 
the same place. The whiteness of the cement renders it doubly valuable. 

How <o Cut Gla ss. —It is not generally known that glass may be cut, 
under water, with a strong pair of scissors. If a round or oval be required, 


HINTS AND HELPS. 


511 


take a piece of common window-glass, draw the shape upon it in a black 
line; sink it with your lelt hand under water as deep as you can without in¬ 
terfering with the view of the line, and with your right use the scissors to 
cut away what is not required. 

Polish, for Boots ancl Shoes —Mix together two pints of the best vine¬ 
gar, and one pint of water; stir into a quarter of a pound of glue, broken up, 
half a pound of logwood chips and a quarter of an ounce of isinglass. Put 
the mixture over the fire and let it boil ten or fifteen minutes. Then strain 
the liquid, and bottle and cork it. When cold it is fit for use. The polish 
should be applied with a clean sponge. 

To Keep Pars in Summer —Furs or woolens may be kept safely from 
moths during the summer by brushing thoroughly, so as to eradicate all the 
moth eggs; then wrap them up in newspaper so that every part is covered 
entirely. This is unfailing if the clothes or furs be well brushed beforehand. 
Some think gum camphor put with them is desirable, but I have used only 
the newspaper, and never had any trouble unless the moths were there 
when wrapped up in it. 

To Make Tougli Beef Tender. —Those who have worn down their teeth 
in masticating old, tough beef, will find that carbonate of soda will remedy 
the evil. Cut the steaks, the day before using, into slices about two inches 
thick, rub over them a small quantity of soda—wash off next morning—cut 
it into suitable thicknesses, and cook. The same process will answer for 
fowls, legs of mutton, etc. Try it, all who love delicious, tender dishes of 
meat. 

To Clean Ostrich Feathers.-- White or light tinted ones can be laid on 
a plate and scrubbed gently with a toothbrush, in warm soap suds, then 
well shaken out and well dx-ied either by the hot sun or a good fire. At 
first the feather will have a most discouraging appearance, and a novice is 
apt to think it perfectly spoiled. But after it is perfectly dry it should be 
carefully cui’led with a penknife or scissors’ blade, and it will recover all its 
former plumy softness. 

How to Clean Oil Cloths. —To ruin them, clean them with hot water or 
soap suds, and leave them half wiped, and they will look very bright while 
wet, but very dingy and dirty when dry, and will soon crack and peel off'. 
But if you wish to preserve them, and have them look new and nice, wash 
them with soft flannel and luke-warm water, and wipe perfectly dry. If you 
want them to look extra nice, after they are dry, drop a few spoonfuls of 
milk over them, and rub with a dry cloth. 

Cement for Kerosene Oil Lamps. —The cement commonly used for 
fastening the tops on kerosene lamps is plaster of Pai'is, which is porous 
and quickly penetrated by the kerosene. Another cement which has not 
this defect is made with three parts of rosin, one of caustic soda, and five of 
water. This composition is mixed with half its weight of plaster of Paris. 
It sets firmly in about three quarters of an hour, and is said to have great 
adhesive power, not permeable to kerosene, a low conductor of heat, and 
but superficially attacked by water. 

A Labor-Saving Invention. —A labor saving invention is to have one 
long cake tin divided in the middle. When making cake put half the quan- 


512 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


tity in one end of tlie tin. Add to the remainder spices, raisins, etc., accord¬ 
ing to taste, and put in the other end of the tin. This saves time in making 
and baking. The result will be two kinds of cake for the basket, and if the 
family is small, one is less likely to have dry cake on hand than if two large 
cakes are made at the same time. 

To Prevent Woodenware from Cracking. —Wooden bowls and 
other ware of this sort, as well as all cross sections from tree trunks, and 
short logs cut for various purposes, are very apt to split while seasoning. 
To prevent this completely, the pores of the wood should be well filled with 
linseed, or some other oxidizing oil, while it is yet green, and before it begins 
to show any signs of cracking or checking. This will completely obviate 
this inconvenience. 

Sweeping —In sweeping carpets, use wet newspaper wrung nearly dry 
and torn into pieces. The paper collects the dust, but does not soil the 
carpet. A carpet, particularly a dark carpet, often looks dusty when it does 
not need sweeping; wring out a sponge quite dry in water (a few drops of 
ammonia helps brighten the color), and wipe off the dust from the carpet. 
This saves much labor in sweeping. 

To Clean an Oily Vessel. —To clean a vessel that has contained kero¬ 
sene oil, wa3h the vessel with thin milk of lime, which forms an emulsion 
witli the petroleum, and removes all traces of it. By washing a second time 
with milk of lime aud a very small quantity of chloride of lime, and allowing 
the liquid to remain in the vessel about an hour, and then washing it with 
cold water, the smell may be removed. If the milk of lime be used warm 
instead of cold, the operation is rendered much shorter. 

Smoky Chimneys. —Trouble with smoky chimneys caused by their 
being used for two or more stoves may be averted in most cases by insert¬ 
ing vertically in the flue a piece of sheet iron, dividing the flue in the center 
for about two feet above the point where each pipe enters, turning the bot¬ 
tom of the sheet iron under the pipe, so as to shut it completely off from the 
part of the flue below it. 

Cleansing Sofa Coverings. —If the covers of sofas and chairs are dirty, 
they may be cleansed without being removed, by first -washing them over 
with warm water and soap rubbed over them with a flannel; then, before 
they are dry, sponge them over with a strong solution of salt and water, in 
which a small quantity of gall has been mixed. The windows of the room 
should be opened, so as to secure a perfect drying, and the colors and the 
freshness of the articles will be restored. 

Home Made Baking Powder. —Take by weight six parts of bicarbonate 
of soda to five parts of tartaric acid, which being much purer than cream of 
tartar, is greatly to be preferred. Get the ingredients in this proportion 
from a reliable wholesale druggist. See that they are perfectly dry, roll the 
lumps out, mix thoroughly together, bottle tightly, and keep in a dry place. 
This has been used for months with much satisfaction. 

To Exterminate Pleas. —Take half a pound of Persian insect powder, 
half pound powdered borax, one ounce oil cedar, quarter ounce oil of penny¬ 
royal properly put up by a druggist; close the room tight, sprinkle this pow¬ 
der on carpet,, furniture, and beds, and keep closed over day or night; then 



HINTS AND HELPS. 


513 


open all windows and air thoroughly, and in twenty-four hours there will be 
no fleas, flies, or mosquitoes left; the rooms can then be swept and dusted. 
This applies nearly as well to roaches and water-bugs. 

To Clean Corsets. —A lady cori’espondent writes: “ Take out the steels 
at front and sides, then scrub them thoroughly with tepid or cold lather of 
white castile soap, using a very small scrubbing brush; do not lay them in 
water. When quite clean, let cold water run on them freely, to rinse out 
the soap thoroughly. Dry, without ironing (after pulling lengthwise until 
they are straight and shapely), in a cool place. 

To Preserve Cut Flowers. —A bouquet of freshly cut flowers may be 
preserved alive for a long time by placing them in a glass or vase with fresh 
water in which a little charcoal has been steeped, or a small piece of cam¬ 
phor dissolved. The vase should be set upon a plate or dish, and covered 
with a bell glass, around the edges of which, when it comes in contact with 
the plate, a little water should be poured to exclude the air. 

To Clean Looking Glasses. —Keep for this purpose a piece of sponge, 
a cloth, and a silk handkerchief, all entirely free from dirt, as the least grit 
will scratch the fine surface of the glass. First sponge it with a little spirits 
of wine, or gin and water, so as to clean off all spots; then dust over it pow¬ 
der-blue, tied in muslin, rub it lightly and quickly off with the cloth, and 
finish by rubbing it with the silk handkerchief. Be careful not to rub the 
edges of the frame. 

To Clean Gilt Jewelry. —Take half a pint of boiling water, or a little 
less, and put it in a clean oil flask. To this add one ounce of cyanide of po¬ 
tassium; shake the flask and the cyanide will dissolve. When the liquid is 
cold, add half a fluid ounce of liquor ammonia, and one fluid ounce of recti¬ 
fied alcohol. Shake the mixture together, and it will be ready for use. All 
kinds of discolored gilt articles may be rendered bright by brushing them 
with the above-mentioned liquid. 

Paste for Cleaning Knives. —Make a mixture one part emery and 
three parts crocus niartis, in very fine powder. Mix them to a thick paste 
with a little lard or sweet oil. Have your knife-board covered with a thick 
buff' leather. Spread this paste on your leather to about the thickness of a 
quarter of a dollar. Rub your knives in it, and it will make them much 
sharper and brighter, and will wear them out less than the common method 
of cleaning them with brickdust on a bare board. 

A Burning Chimney. —A burning chimney, when the soot has been 
lighted by a fire in the fireplace, can bo extinguished by shutting all the 
doors in the room, so as to prevent any current of air up the chimney; then, 
by throwing a few handfuls of common fine salt upon the fire in the grate or 
on the hearth, the fire in the chimney will be immediately extinguished. In 
burning the salt, muriatic-acid gas is evolved, which is a prompt extinguisher 
of fire. 

To Purify a Room. —Set a pitcher of water in the apartment, and in a 
few hours it will have absorbed all the respired gases in the room, the air of 
which will have become purer, but the water utterly filthy. The colder the 
water is, the greater the capacity to contain these gases. At ordinary tem¬ 
perature a pail of water will absorb a pint of carbonic acid gas and several 


514 


f THE HOUSEHOLD. 


pints of ammonia. The capacity is nearly doubled by reducing the water to 
the temperature of ice. Hence, water kept in a room awhile is unfit for use. 
For the same reason, water from a pump should always be pumped out in 
the morning before any of it be used. 

Bread-Making. —A correspondent writes as follows: “I have lately 
adopted a new way in bread making, which has given me the best satisfac¬ 
tion. Make a hole in the middle of your pan of flour, pour in the required 
amount of yeast and milk, and cover it over slightly with dry Hour. If this 
is done at night, you will find in the morning a light foamy mass which I 
stir down once or twice before kneading for the bread tin*. I think the 
bread nicer for the ingredients being mixed so slowly. 

To Purify Water. —A tablespoonful of pulverized alum sprinkled into 
a hogshead of water (the water stirred at the same time) will, after a few 
hours, by precipitating to the bottom the impure particles, so purify it, that 
it will be found to possess nearly all the freshness and clearness of the finest 
spring water. A pailful, containing four gallons, may be thoroughly puri¬ 
fied by a single teaspoouful of the alum. 

Save Your Sugar. —All housekeepers should know that sugar boiled 
with an acid, if it be but three minutes, will bo converted into glucose, 
which is the form of sugar found in sweet apples. One pound of sugar has 
as much sweetening power as two and a quarter pounds of glucose. In 
other words, one pound of sugar stirred into the fruit after it is cooked, and 
while yet warm, will make the fruit as sweet as two and a quarter pounds 
added while the fruit is boiling. 

To Make Shell Frames. —The part of the frame that is to be orna¬ 
mented with shells must bo covered thickly with fresh putty; press the 
shell down into the putty nearly or quite to the top edge of the shell; form 
flowers or any fancy design; then carefully cut away any of the superfluous 
putty that remains, using a sharp pen-knife; if any should unavoidably show, 
it can be colored pink or white; let the frame remain in a flat position until 
the putty hardens. 

To Restore the Pile of Velvet— Stretch the velvet out tightly, and re¬ 
move all dust from the surface with a clean brush; afterward, well clean it 
with a piece of black flannel, slightly moistened with Florence oil. Then 
lay a wet cloth over a hot iron, and place it under the velvet, allowing the 
steam to pass through it, at the same time brushing the pile of the velvet 
till restored as required. Should any fluff remain on the surface of the vel¬ 
vet, remove it by brushing with a handful of crape. 

A Simple Insecticide —Hot alum water is the best insect destroyer 
known. Put the alum into hot water and let it boil till it is all dissolved; 
then apply the solution hot with a brush to all cracks, closets, bedsteads, 
and other places, where any insects are found. Ants, bedbugs, cockroaches 
and creeping things are killed by it; while it has no danger of poisouing the 
family or injuring the property. 



To Remove Grease— Aqua ammonia, two ounces; soft water, one 
quart; saltpeter, one teaspoonful; shaving soap in shavings, one ounce; mix 
together; dissolve the soap well, and any grease or dirt that cannot be re¬ 
moved with this preparation, nothing else need bo tried for it. 











I 


HINTS ANT HELPS. 515 

Mending Glass.—For mending valuable glass objects which would be 
disfigured by common cement, chrome cement may be used. This is a 
mixture of five parts gelatine to one of a solution of acid chromate of lime. 
The broken edges are covered with this, pressed together and exposed to 
sunlight, the effect of the latter being to render the compound insoluble 
even in boiling water. 

To Improve Pine Work-Pine work brushed two or three times with 
a strong boiling decoction of logwood chips, and varnished with a solution of 
shellac in alcohol, appears almost like mahogany, both in color and hard¬ 
ness. After washing with decoction of logwood and drying thoroughly, it 
should receive two coats of varnish. Then carelully sandpaper and polish, 
and give a final coat of shellac varnish. 

Ink from Carpets —To remove freshly-spilt ink from carpets, first 
take up as much as possible of the ink with a teaspoon. Then pour cold 
sweet milk upon the spot and take up as before, pouring on milk until at 
last it becomes only slightly tinged with black; then wash with cold water, 
and absorb with a cloth without too much rubbing. 

Black Ink. —To make jet black ink, that is shiny and glistening when 
applied, dissolve in one-half pint of soft water, three-eighths ounce of 
potassium bichromate, and add sixty ounces of logwood extract dissolved in 
one gallon of water; then dissolve in one gallon of water, by continued boil¬ 
ing, borax six ounces, shellac one and one-lialf ounces. Mix all together 
while warm and add ammonia three ounces. 

Fastening Fruit .Tars. —Very many housekeepers are greatly annoyed 
by the opening of their fruit jars after they have been carefully sealed. The 
difficulty arises from the fact that the rubber bands furnished with them are 
so hard, have so little rubber in them, that they do not yield to compres¬ 
sion, and hence do not become tight. Boiling the bands before using is said 
to obviate the difficulty. 

To Color Stockings Blue. —To color stockings a delicate blue, use 
bluing. Put into Avarm water till the right shade, dip the stocking in and set 
with salt and water. Very handsome pink of a delicate shade may be made 
by using rose aniline. Make a very little dye and weaken to the right 
shade; it would be better to dissolve the aniline in a bottle and shade by 
adding till the right shade is obtained. Those are pretty set with warm 
alum water. 

To Clean Japanned Waiters. —Bub on with a sponge a little Avhite 
soap and some Avarm Avater, and Avash quite clean. Never use hot w'ater, as 
it Avill cause the Japan to peel. Wipe dry, sprinkle a little flour over it; let 
it rest aAvhile, and then rub it with a soft dry cloth, and finish Avitli a soft 
piece of old silk. 

Moths in Carpets— If the moths have begun to eat your carpet, take 
the tacks out, turn it back a half yard all around the room, Avash the boards 
with a saturated solution of camphor, putting it on Avith a brush (a paint 
brush is gocd), then lay the carpet back in its proper place, and put over it 
a towel Avrung out of Avater and camphor, and iron it thoroughly with a real 
hot iron so as to steam it through and through, and this will kill tho insects 
ciid all their larvae. 


516 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


To Clean Steel Articles. —Polished steel articles, if rubbed every morn¬ 
ing with leather, will not become dull or rusty; but if rust has been suffered 
to gather, it must be immediately removed by covering the steel with sweet 
oil, and allowing it to remain on for two days; then sprinkle it over with 
finelv-powdered unslaked lime, and rub it with polishing leather. 

A Useful Tal>le for Housewives. —Flour—One pound is one quart. 
Meal—One pound and two ounces are one quart. Butter—One pound is one 
quart. Powdered white sugar—one pound and one ounce is a quart. Ten 
eggs are a pound. A common tumbler holds half a pint. A teacup is a gill. 

Crystallized Chimney Ornaments. —Select a ci*ooked twig of white 
or black thorn; wrap some loose wool or cotton around the branches, and 
tie it on with worsted. Suspend this in a basin or deep jar. Dissolve two 
pounds of alum in a quart of boiling water, and pour it over the twig. 
Allow it to stand twelve hours. Wire baskets may be covered in the same 
way. 

To Restore Color. —When color on a fabric has been accidentally or 
otherwise destroyed by acid, ammonia is applied to neutralize the same, 
after which an application of chloroform will, in almost all cases, restore the 
original color. The application of amnxonia is common, bixt that of chloro- 
fornx is bxxt little known. 

Cleaning Wooden Floors. —The dirtiest of flooi’s may be rendei’ed 
beautifully clean by the following process: First scrub with sand, then rub 
with a lye of caixstic soda, using a stiff’ brush, and rinse off' with warm water. 
Just before the floor is dry, moisten with dilute hydrochloric acid, and then 
with a thin paste of bleaching powder (liypocliloi'ite of lime). Let this 
remain over night, and wash in the morning. 

To Remove Stains from Broadcloth. —Take one ounce of pipe-clay 
that has been ground fine, and xxiix it with twelve drops of alcohol, and the 
same quantity of spirits of turpentine. Moisten a little of this mixture with 
alcohol, and rub it on the spots. Let it i*cmain till dry, then rub it off with 
a woolen cloth, and the spots will disappear. 

To Dye Furs. —Any dye that will color w'ool will color furs. In buying 
furs, examine the density and length of the down next the skin: this can 
easily be done by blowing bi*iskly against the set of the fur; if it is very 
close and dense, it is all right, but if it opens easy and exposes much of the 
skin, reject it. 

How to Preserve Slioe Soles. —Melt together tallow and common l’esin, 
in the proportion of two parts of the former to one of the latter, and apply 
the preparation, hot, to the soles of the boots or shoes—as much of it as the 
latter will absorb. One farmer declares that this recipe alone has been 
worth more than five dollars. 

To Take Stains from Marble. —Make a mixture of one ounce of soda, 
a piece of stone lime the size of a walnut, quarter of a pound of whiting and 
the same amount of soft soap; boil these together ten minutes, and then put 
the mixture on the marble while hot; leave this on twenty-four hours, then 
wash off with clean, warm water. Polish first with soft flannel and then 
with chamois skin. 


517 


HINTS AND HELPS. 

To Clean Marble. —Mix powdered chalk with pumice stone, each one 
part with two parts of common soda, into a paste with water, and rub it 
thoroughly on the marble; or mix quicklime and strong soap lye to con¬ 
sistency of milk, and lay it on the marble for twenty-four hours; in both 
cases wash off thoroughly with soap and water. 

To Purify Butter. —The French purify their butter by melting it in pots 
plunged into water heated to nearly boiling point; and sometimes they mix 
a pure brine with the melting butter, whereby they flavor the subsidence of 
the coagulated caseine and other impurities. The supernatant clear butter 
should be drawn or poured off, and l-apidly cooled. 

To Mount Chromos. —Take unbleached muslin and stretch it over a 
wooden strainer; next dampen the back of the picture with paste, and lay it 
on the canvas; then with a dry rag rub well the back of the canvas to pre¬ 
vent blistering. If you use card or pasteboard, simply dampen the back of 
the picture with paste and lay it on the board, taking care that it is 
smoothly laid on. 

How to Keep Cider Sweet. —The cider after it comes from the pi-ess is 
allowed to stand until the pomace settles. It is then put into a clean vessel 
over a fii*e, and brought to a boil—in the meantime skimming off the scum 
as it lises. It is then put into small kegs or bottles, and tightly corked or 
sealed. . By this process cider may be kept sweet for years. 

Excellent Paste Blacking —Half a pound of ivory black, half a pound 
of molasses, half an ounce of powdered alum, one drachm of turpentine, one 
ounce of sulphuric acid, two ounces of raw linseed oil. The ivory black and 
molasses rnxist fii’st be mixed together until thoroughly incoi’porated; then 
add the l'est of the ingredients. It keeps best in a bladder. 

To Color Floors Walnut Tint. —Apply with paint brush or rag raw 
linseed oil, mixed with burnt umber. When dry, apply a coat of boiled 
linseed oil without color. The quantity of umber depends upon the wood, 
some requiring much more color to make a given tint. A small quantity ot 
the mixture well rubbed in, has the best effect and di’ies sooner. 

To Improve Pens. —When a pen has been used until it appears to be 
spoiled, place it over a flame (a gaslight for instance) for, say, a quarter of a 
minute, then dip it into water, and it will be again fit for use. A new pen, 
which is found too hard to write with, will bec'ome softer by being thus 
heated. 

Vinegar.—A cheap and wholesome article of vinegar may be made ot 
water, molasses and yeast, say twenty-five gallons of water, four of molasses, 
and one of yeast. This, when it ferments, will yield very good vinegar. A 
fair imitation of white wine vinegar may be made of mashed raisins and 
water kept in a warm place for a month. 

Sponges. —After long use sponges are liable to smell very badly unless 
carefully cleaned every day. By rubbing a fresh lemon thoroughly into the 
sponge and then rinsing it several times in lukewarm water it will become 
as sweet as when new. 

To Renovate tlie Tops of ICid Boots. —Defaced kid boots will be 
greatly improved by being rubbed well Avith a mixture of cream and ink. 





THE HOUSEHOLD. 


918 


To Preserve Bright Grates or Fire Irons from Rust. —Make strong 
paste of fresh lime and water, and with a fine brush smear it as thickly as 
possible over all the polished surface requiring preservation. By this sim¬ 
ple means, all the grates and fire irons in an empty house may be kept for 
months free from harm, without further care or attention. 

Simple Disinfectant. —Cut two or three good-sized onions in halves, 
and place them on a plate on the floor: they absorb noxious effluvia, etc., in 
the sick room, in an incredibly short space of time, and are greatly to be 
preferred to perfumery for the same purpose. They should be changed 
every six hours. 

To Whiten Porcelain Saucepans. —Have the pans half filled with hot 
water; throw in a tablespoonful of pulverized borax, and let it boil. If this 
does not remove all the stains, soap a cloth and sprinkle on plenty of pul¬ 
verized borax. Scour them well. 

To Take Grease from Paper. —Gently warm the part containing the 
grease, and apply blotting-paper so as to extract as much as possible. Boil 
some clear essential oil of turpentine, and apply it to the warm paper with 
a soft, clean brush. A little rectified spirits of wine should be put on after¬ 
ward. 

To Set Colors. —Salt or beef’s gall in the water helps to set black. A 
tablespoonful of spirits of turpentine to a gallon of water sets most blues, 
and alum is very efficacious in setting green. Black or very dark calicoes 
should be stiffened with gum arabic—five cents’ worth is enough for a dress. 
If, however, starch is used, the garment should be turned wrong side out. 

To Clean Ribbons. —Take one tablespoonful of brandy, one of soft soap, 
and one of molasses. Mix thoroughly together; place the l'ibbon upon a 
smooth board, and apply the mixture with a soft brush; after which rinse 
in cold water, and roll up in a cloth until nearly dry. Iron with a flat-iron, 
not too hot. 


Copying-Ink. —Take two gallons of rain water and put into it one-quar¬ 
ter pound of gum arabic, one-quarter pound clean copperas, three-quarters 
pound nutgalls pulverized. Mix and shake occasionally for ten days, and 
strain. If needed sooner, let it steep in an iron kettle until the required 
strength is obtained. 


To Cleanse Gilt Frames. —Take sufficient flour of sulphur to give a 
golden tinge to one and one-half pints of water; boil in this water four or five 
onions, strain, and when cold wash with soft brush any part that requires 
restoring; when dry it will come out as good as new. 


Paste for Removing Grease from Silk—Bub together fine French 
chalk and lavender to the consistence of a thin paste, and apply thoroughly 
to the spots with the fingers; place a sheet of brown or blotting-paper above 
and below the silk, and smooth it with a moderately-heated iron. The 
French chalk may then be removed by brushing. 


To Purify Vessels—All sorts of vessels and utensils may be purified 
from long retained smells of every kind in the easiest and most perfect man¬ 
ner, by rinsing them out well with charcoal powder after the grosser impuri¬ 
ties have been scoured off with sand and water. 


HINTS AND HELPS. 


510 


Glycerine Cement. —A cement, said to be capable of use where resis¬ 
tance to the action of both water and heat is required, is composed by mix¬ 
ing ordinary glycerine with dry litharge, so as to constitute a tough paste. 
For uniting the joints of steam-pipes, and other similar applications, this 
preparation is said to be very satisfactory. 

A Candle to Burn all Niglit. —When, as in a case of sickness, a dull 
light is wished, or when matches are mislaid, put powdered salt on the can¬ 
dle till it reaches the black part of the wick. In this way a mild ant^ steady 
light may be kept throughout the night by a small piece of candle. 

To Clean White Kid Slioes. —White kid shoes can be cleaned by dip¬ 
ping a perfectly clean white flannel cloth in a little ammonia, and then rub¬ 
bing the cloth over a cake of white soap; after doing this, rub the kid gently, 
and the soiled places will be white again. As the flannel becomes soiled, 
change for a clean one. 

To Clean White Goods. —The following volatile soap will remove paint, 
grease spots, etc., and restore the purity of color of white goods: Four table¬ 
spoonfuls of spirits of hartshorn; four tablespoonfuls of alcohol, and a table¬ 
spoonful of salt. Shake the whole well together in a bottle and apply with 
a sponge. 

To Restore Kid Gloves. —To restore old kid gloves, make a thick mu¬ 
cilage by boiling a handful of flaxseed; add a little dissolved soap; then 
when the mixture cools, with a piece of white flannel, wipe the gloves, previ¬ 
ously fitted to the hand. Use only enough of the cleaner to take off the dirt, 
without wetting through the glove. 

Taking Up a Carpet. —On taking up a carpet, remove it carefulty, then 
apply wet (not too wet) sawdust plentifully again and again. The floor will 
scax*cely need washing, and you will be surprised at the absence of smother¬ 
ing dirt, and I am sure will use no other method in future. 

To Prevent Rust In Tinware. —An easy and effectual plan to keep 
tinware from rusting consists in rubbing the new vessel inside and out with 
fresh lard or butter; then placing in the oven and keeping hot for several 
hours. The heat must not be so great as to melt the solder; still it is essen¬ 
tial that the tin be kept very warm. 

To Render Fruit Jars Air Tight. —When canning fruit have a Clip of 
flour paste ready; if your rubbers are old, or the zinc rings or covers are 
bent a little, you may still make them air tight with the paste. If you are 
at all doubtful about the condition of your can it is a good notion to use the 
paste. 

To Preserve Green Peas for Winter Use. —Gather the peas when plen¬ 
tiful, shell them; then wash and scald them in hot water. When thoroughly 
drained, put them into bottles, and fill up each bottle with a strong brine; 
at the top of the bottle pour a thin layer of salad oil. Cork and seal the bot¬ 
tles, which must be quite full and kept upright. 

Liquid Glue— Liquid glue may be made by dissolving glue in strong, 
hot vinegar, and adding one-fourth as much alcohol and a little alum. This 
will keep any length of time when placed in a closely stopped bottle, and 
will mend horn, wood and mother-of-pearl, 


520 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


To Crystallize Window*. —Windows arc crystallized, or made to imi¬ 
tate ground glass, by dissolving epsom salts in hot beer or a weak solution 
of gum arabic. You can make any pattern or border you please by cutting 
out a design on a sheet of pasteboard, and rubbing the design with a damp 
cloth. 

To Take Grease out of Velvet. —Get some turpentine from the oil- 
shop, and pour it over the place that is greasy; rub it till quite dry with a 
piece of clean flannel. If the grease be not removed, repeat the application, 
and when done brush the place well, and hang the garment up in the open 
air to take away the smell. 

To Freshen Black Lace. —Lay it on a clean table, sponge it all over 
with a weak solution of borax, about an even teaspoonful, or less, to a pint 
of warm water. Use a piece of old black silk, or black kid glove is better, 
to sponge with. While damp cover with a piece of black silk or cloth, and 
iron. 

To Remove Grease from a Stove Hearth. —When oil or any other 
grease has been dropped on a stove hearth, immediately cover the place 
with very hot ashes. After a while clear away the asheB, and if the grease 
has not quite disappeared, repeat the process. 

Waterproof Coating for Cotton or Linen. —Boiled linseed oil, con¬ 
taining about an ounce of the oxide of manganese, or litharge, to the quart, 
will make an excellent waterproof coating for cotton or linen cloth. Put on 
several coats with a brush, and allow each to dry perfectly. 

Imlelihle Marking Ink —Nitrate of silver, two drachms; distilled 
water three ounces. Dissolve. Moisten the spot to be marked with a con¬ 
centrated solution of carbonate of potassa, to which a little gum water must 
be added. When the spot has become dry, write upon it with the solution 
of nitrate of silver. 

Canaries. —The parasites which affect these pretty feathered pets may 
be got rid of by merely placing a clean white cloth over the cage at night. 
In the morning it will be covered with very minute red spots, almost invisi¬ 
ble without a microscope. These are the vermin so annoying and so fatal 
to the birds. 


To Improve Stove Polisli. —Stove luster, when mixed with turpentine, 
and applied in the usual manner, is blacker, more glossy, and more durable 
than when mixed with any other liquid. The turpentine prevents rust, and 
when put on an old rusty stove will make it look as well as uew. 


To Remove Paint from a Wall. —If you intend papering a painted 
Avail, you must first get off the paint, otherwise the paper will not stick. To 
do this, mix in a bucket with warm water a sufficient quantity of pearlash, 
or potash, so as to make a strong solution. Dip a brush into this, and with 
it scour off all the paint, finishing Avith cold water and a flannel. 


To Brigliten Jewelry. —It is possible, if not probable, that you do not 
know how to brighten gold or silver jewelry, if tarnished. Very well, then, 
brush it with an old tooth brush Avet Avith soap suds, and place in saAvdust 
to dry. Some ladies keep their jewelry in saArdust, The jewelers use this 
method. 


HINTS AND HELPS. 


521 


To Prevent Rust.—A composition that will effect'!ally prevent iron, 
steel, etc., from rusting. Mix with fat oil varnish four-fifths of well rectified 
spirits of turpentine. Apply this varnish with a sponge, and the articles will 
retain their metallic brilliancy, and not be liable to rust. 

To Clean Black Veils. —Pass them through a warm liquor of bullock’s 
gall and water; rinse in cold water; then take a small piece of glue, pour 
boiling water on it, and pass the veil through it; clap it, and frame to dry. 
Instead of framing, it may be fastened with drawing-pins closely fixed upon 
a very clean paste, or drawing-board. 

To Sharpen Scissors. —Take a coarse sewing needle and hold it firmly 
between the thumb and forefinger of the left hand; then take the scissors 
in your right hand, and cut them smoothly and quickly from hand to point. 
The dullest scissors, unless they are entirely worn out, can soon be 
sharpened in this way. 

Ink Stains on Furniture. —Ink stains on mahogany cr black walnut 
furniture may be removed by touching the stains with a feather wet in a 
solution of nitre and water, eight drops to a spoonful of water. As soon as 
the spots disappear rub the place at once with a cloth wet in cold water. If 
the ink stains then remain, repeat, making the solution stronger. 

Kerosene Fires.—It ought to be more generally known that wheat 
flour is probably the best possible article to throw over a fire caused by the 
spilling and igniting of kerosene. It ought to be known, because flour is 
always within convenient reach. 

Use of Lemon Leaves. —Lemon seeds, if planted and treated as house 
plants, will make pretty little shrubs. The leaves can then be used for 
flavoring. Tie a few in a cloth and drop in apple sauce when boiling and 
nearly done. It is a cheap essence. 

Unpleasant Odor from Cabbage— The reason why cabbage emits 
such a disagreeable smell when boiling is because the process dissolves the 
essential oil. The w r ater should be changed when the cabbage is half-boiled, 
and it will thus acquire a greater sweetness. 

Glazed Whitewash. —Take two gallons of water, one pound and a 
half of rice, and one pound of moist sugar. Let the mixture boil until tho 
rice is quite dissolved, and then thicken it to the consistence of whitewash 
with finely-powdered lime. This whitewash has a pretty satiny look, and 
does nicely for the inside of bird cages, as well as for commoner purposes. 

Mold on Jelly —If the paper which is put over jelly be dipped in the 
white of an egg, it will when dry be tight and firm, and keep the fruit from 
molding with much more certainty than if it is dipped in alcohol or brandy. 
Tho paper which is laid next the fruit is meant, not that which is tied or 
pasted over the glass. 

Positive Cure for Water Bugs. —To a kettleful of water add a cupful 
of washing soda. Let it come to a boil; after which pour it down the water 
pipes, commencing at the top of the house, Repeat the operation once or 
twice and you will have destroyed 99 per cent, of the bugs, which breed in¬ 
side the pipes during the month of September, The few remaining in the 
room can be reached with insect powder. 


522 


TTTE IIOUSE 110 LB. 


To Remove Tar from ilie Hands. —We recommend nibbing the 
bands with the outside of fresh orange or lemon peel, and wiping dry imme¬ 
diately. It is astonishing what a small piece will clean. The volatile oils 
in the skins dissolve the tar, so that it can be wiped off. 

Drying Fruits. —Families of farmers engaged in drying fruits are 
reminded that the solar heat is not sufficiently intense to destroy insect eggs 
that may have been deposited in the fruit when green, or in the process of 
drying. If put in a moderately warm oven for ten minutes all parasites and 
their eggs would be destroyed. In countries where fruits are extensively 
dried the treatment is practiced generally. 

Cement for Glass, Crockery, Etc. —Four pounds of white glue, one 
and a half pounds of dry white lead, half a pound of isinglass, one gallon of 
soft water, one quart of alcohol, one-half pint of white varnish. Dissolve 
the glue and isinglass in the water by gentle heat if preferred, stir in the 
lead, put the alcohol in the varnish, and mix the whole together. 

Care of Lump Chimneys. —After the lamps are filled and the chim¬ 
neys washed and put on the shelf, take pieces of newspaper and roll in the 
form of a chimney and slip over chimney and lamp. It will protect from 
dust and flies, and when the lamps are lighted one will be rewarded by 
finding them as clear and bright as when first put in order. 

Care of Flour. —Flour is like butter; it absorbs smells readily. It 
should not be kept in a place where there are onions, fish, vegetables 
decaying, or other odorous substances, nor in a damp room or cellar. Keep 
it in a cool, dry, airy room, where not exposed to a freezing temperature, 
nor to one above 70 degi-ees, and always sift before using. 

Mites in Ckeese. —Cheese kept in a cool larder or cellar, with a cloth 
rung out of clean cold water constantly upon it will never have mites in it, 
or if it has, this will soon desti’oy them, and also greatly improve the 
cheese, keeping it always moist. 

To Clean Glass. —For cleaning glass a newspaper is one of the best 
articles to use. The chemical opei-ation of some of the ingredients of print¬ 
ing ink gives a beautiful polish. Slightly moisten a piece of paper, roll it 
up and rub the glass; then take a dry, soft piece and repeat the process. 
No lint will remain, as is the case when cloth is used. 

Cleaning Hats. —White fur or light beaver hats can be nicely cleaned 
with salt and Indian meal. Take about equal proportions of each, place it 
in a pan and heat it in the oven until it is as hot as can be handled. Lay 
the fur on a clean cloth and rub gently with the salt and meal xxntil the dirt 
is l'emoved, then shake it thoroughly. 

To Improve Pickles— Grape leaves are recommended to pxxt on top 
of pickles to keep them sharp and free from mold. Fresh green grape 
leaves ai’e better than flannel cloths. They should be rinsed in pure water 
and then drained quite dry, and laid over evei’y piece in the jar. They 
should be changed once a week. 

To Clean Smoky Ceilings. —Ceilings that have been smoked by a 
kerosene lamp should be washed off with soda water. Grained wood should 
be washed with cold tea. 


523 


HINTS ANI) HELPS. 

To Remove Marks from Tables. —Hot dishes sometimes leave whitish 
marks on varnished tables, when set, as they should not be, carelessly upon 
them. For removing them, pour some lamp-oil on the spot, and rub it hard 
with a soft cloth. Pour on a little spirits, and rub it dry with another cloth, 
and the whole mark will disappear, leaving the table as bright as before. 

To Soften Water. —Hard waters are rendered very soft and pure, rival¬ 
ing distilled water, by merely boiling a two-ounce vial, say, in a kettleful of 
water. The carbonate of lime and any impurities will be found adhering to 
the vial. The water boils very much quicker at the same time. 

To Remove Bruises from Furniture. —Wet the bruised spots with 
warm weather. Soak a piece of brown paper of several thicknesses in warm 
water, and lay over the place. Then apply a warm flat-iron until the moist¬ 
ure is gone. Repeat the process if needful, and the bruises will disappear. 

Celebrated Recipe for Silver Wash. —One ounce of nitric acid, one 
ten cent piece, and one ounce of quicksilver. Put in an open glass vessel, 
and let it stand until dissolved; then add one pint of water, and it is ready 
for use. Make it into a powder by adding whiting, and it may be used on 
brass, copper, German silver, etc. 

To Blacken Stoves. —Those who are troubled to blacken their kitchen 
stoves in winter, on account of keeping a constant fire, try my plan of adding 
about a teaspoonful of sugar to a teacupful of mixed blacking. You can use 
this when the stove is quite hot, and the sugar causes the blacking to ad¬ 
here to the stove. 

Damp Closets. —For a damp closet or cupboard, which is liable to cause 
mildew, place in it a saucer full of quicklime, and it will not only absorb all 
apparent dampness, but sweeten and disinfect the place. Renew the lime 
once a fortnight, or as often as it becomes slaked. 

IVew Kettles. —The best way to prepare a new iron kettle for use is to 
fill it with clean potato parings; boil them for an hour or more, then wash 
the kettle with hot water, wipe it dry, and rub it with a little lard; repeat 
the rubbing for half a dozen times after using. In this way you will pre¬ 
vent rust and all the annoyances liable to occur in the use of a new kettle. 

To Clean White Knit led Garments. —Take those not needing wash¬ 
ing, being only slightly soiled, place them in a pillow-case one at a time, 
sprinkle flour through it, and shake well, until it looks as bright as new. 
Borax is excellent to wash flannels with, dissolved in luke warm water. 

To Improve and Preserve Butter. —Take two parts good salt, one 
part sugar, one-half part saltpetre; mix well together, and use one ounce 
for every pound of butter, thoroughly worked into it. It makes the butter 
rich, good color, and prevents bitterness. It will keep good for two or three 
years. Let it stand a month before it is used, and keep it closely covered. 

To Keep Cranberries all Winter. —Put them in a cool room, where 
there is no danger of freezing, and either spread out on a cloth or so as to 
give each berry light and air; or, which is a suro way, put them in a barrel 
under water. 

For Oiling Walnut Furniture. —Raw linseed oil rubbed with a flannel 
cloth, then polish with dry flannel; be careful not to put too much on. 


524 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


To Whiten Linen Garments. —Linen garments which have become 
yellow from time, may be whitened by being boiled in a lather made of milk 
and pure white soap, a pound of the latter to a gallon of the former. After 
the boiling process the linen should be twice rinsed, a little bluing being 
added to the last water used. 

To Eradicate Vermin. —It is said that common sulphur will kill or 
drive aw r ay the little fish-shaped, silvery pest which infests our pantry. 
Sprinkle the sulphur freely about, and the place will soon be cleared of the 
vermin. 

How to Smooth Ribbons. —Take a moderately hot flat-iron on tlio 
ironing-board, then place the ribbon on the left side of the iron, and pull it 
carefully through underneath the iron. If the ribbon is not pulled too fast, 
and the iron is the right warmth, this will be found to be a much better way 
than simply rubbing the iron over the ribbon. 

To Get Rid of Flies. —The following is better than fly paper: Take 
half a teaspoonful of black pepper in powder, one teaspoonful of brown 
sugar, and one teaspoonful of cream; mix them well together and place 
them in a room, on a plate, where the flies are troublesome, and they will 
soon disappear. 

To Take tbe Woody Taste Out of a Wooden Pail. —Fill the pail 

with boiling hot water; let it remain until cold, then empty it, and dissolve 
some soda in lukewarm water, adding a little lime to it, and wash the inside 
well w'ith the solution; after that scald with hot water and rinse well. 

To Prevent Iron from Rusting. —Warm the iron until you cannot, 
bear your hand on it without burning yourself. Then rub it with new and 
clean white wax. Tut it again to the fire till it has soaked in the wax. When 
dene rub it over with a piece of serge. This prevents the iron from rusting 
afterwards. 

To Revive Withered Flowers—Plunge the stems into boiling water, 
and by the time the water is cold, the flowers will revive. The ends of the 
stalks should then be cut off, and the flowers should be put to stand in cold 
water, and they will keep fresh for several days. 

To Remove Putty from Glass —Dip a small brush in nitric or 
muriatic acid, and with it paint over the dry putty that adheres to the 
broken glasses and frames of the windows. After an hour’s interval the 
putty will have become so soft as to be easily removed. 

To Clean Fine Toothed Combs —Clean a fine-toothed comb by put¬ 
ting a piece of rather coarse sewing silk through the arm of a chair, or fasten¬ 
ing it in some way at a convenient height. Hold the two ends of the thread 
and presS the comb upon it, rubbing briskly, letting the silk penetrate all 
the spaces. 

Baking Griddle Cakes Without Grease. —If you wish to do aw T ay 
with the use of grease on the griddle for baking cakes, have the ordinary 
iron griddle ground smooth on a grindstone and rubbed off with a piece of 
fine sand paper wrapped round a block of wood. This is much better than 
a soapstone griddle, 


525 


HINTS AND HELPS. 

Preserving Fruit. —Dr. Keclzie says: In cooking acid fruits house¬ 
keepers unwittingly waste a good part of the sugar. Anxious to get the 
fullest effect of the sugar upon the small fruits, they boil the two together, 
and thus convert most of the cane sugar into grape sugar. • Several years 
ago my assistant in chemistry tested this matter by placing one hundred 
parts of ripe gooseberries in a stewpan with water to cover them, added 
twenty-five parts of sugar and cooked the fruit. A second portion of the 
same berries was cooked without sugar, and after the fruit was partially 
cooked the twenty-five parts of sugar added, and when this sugar had dis¬ 
solved both samples of cooked fruit were analyzed, when one-half the sugar 
in the first batch was converted into glucose, and only one-tenth of the cane 
sugar in the second batch was thus changed. If the gooseberries had been 
green the results would have been more striking. If very acid fruits, like 
currants and cranberries, are rapidly cooked by boiling and then set to cool 
for a few minutes and the sugar added, a fine jelly-like mass will be found 
when the sauce is cold, very different from the ivatery mess so often seen. 
In making preserves the same principles hold good for the most part, though 
preserves are more apt to work or ferment if sugar is not cooked with the 
fruit. In this case it is better to steam the fruit till it is so tender that a 
straw may penetrate it, then put the fruit into cans, add the sugar, and seal 
up at once. Three pounds of sugar for four pounds of fruit will be ample. 

How to Preserve Feathers. —The disposal and management of the 
feathers is a thing that calls for attention. As soon as a fowl is killed, and 
while yet warm, let it be carefully plucked. Separate the large wing- 
feathers; put the others into small paper bags previously prepared. Put 
these bags into an oven and let them remain about half an hour; take them 
out, repeat the process two or three times, then keep the feathers in a dry 
place till required. The oven must not be too hot. Care must be taken to 
free the feathers of any skin or flesh that may adhere to them while being 
plucked, or they will be tainted. The hard quilly portion of the larger 
feathers must be cut off with a pair of scissors. The wing and tail feathers 
may be stripped and added to the others. Previous to putting them in the 
oven, some recommend that the feathers should be put loosely into a dry 
tub or basket and shaken up daily, so that all may in turn be exposed to 
the air. Others recommend, as an easier plan, merely to suspend the bag 
from the ceiling of a warm kitchen, or on the wall behind a fire-place, where 
it is practicable. In this case they will take longer to dry. Feathers can be 
quickly and effectually dried and cleaned by the agency of steam; but it is 
rather an expensive method, and the thrifty henwife will doubtless prefer 
having the produ«e of her own yard prepared under her own eye and by 
her own directions. 

Putting Away Winter Clothing. —Housewives when about to put 
away their heavy winter clothing should select one closet in the house in 
which to hang the dresses, overcoats, and heavy jackets The clothes should 
be hung on a line in the yard on a sunny day and well aired and beaten. 
The closet should be thoroughly washed and sprinkled with good black 
pepper and insect powder. Then hang the garments up and close the door. 
They will keep all summer, but more pepper should be put in every month. 
Furs should have the same treatment, and after being thoroughly sprinkled 
with black pepper, should be put in newspapers so that no air may get at 
them. Every opening in the paper must be sealed. This process of wrap- 


526 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


ping in newspapers is said to insure safety against moths, as they cannot 
cut through the printer’s ink without dying; but it is wise to sprinkle the 
garment with pepper unless one intends to take it out during the warm 
weather. 

To Keep Lamp Chimneys from Cracking. —The following recipe 
for keeping lamp chimneys from cracking is taken from a Leipzig journal 
devoted to the glass interest. Place your tumblers, chimneys or vessels 
which you desire to keep from cracking, in a pot filled with cold water, add 
a little cooking salt, allow the mixture to boil well over a fire, and then cool 
slowly. Glass treated in this way is said not to crack even if exposed to 
very sudden changes of temperature. Chimneys are said to become very 
durable by this process, which may also be extended to crockery, stone¬ 
ware, porcelain, etc. The process is simply one of annealing, and the 
slower the process, especially the cooling portion of it, the more effective 
will be the work. 

Care of Velvet. —How to brash velvet is a thing, easy as it seems, not 
known to everybody. The whole secret lies in the management of the 
brush. Take a hat brush that is not too soft, but has the bristles elastic, 
and that will return at once to their original state after being pressed aside. 
Hold this firmly under the palm of the hand, in the direction of the arm, 
and with the bristles downward; and pressing them first gently into the 
substance of the velvet, then twist around the arm, hand, and brush alto¬ 
gether as on an axis, without moving them forward or backward. The 
foreign matters will be drawn up and flirted out of the flock without injury 
to the substance of the velvet; and the brush must be lifted up and placed 
in a similar manner over every part required to be brushed. By this means 
velvet will be improved instead of deteriorated; and will last for years. 

Housekeeper’s Weights and Measures. —Two gills make half a pint. 
Two pints make one quart. Four quarts make one gallon. Half a gallon is 
a quarter of a peck. Two gallons make one peck. Four gallons make half 
a bushel. Eight gallons make one bushel. About sixty drops of any thin 
liquid will fill a common-sized teaspoon. Four tablespoons, or one-half a 
gill, will fill a common-sized wine-glass. Four wine-glasses will fill a half¬ 
pint measure, a common tumbler, or a large coffee-cup. Ten eggs usually 
weigh one pound before they are broken. A tablespoonful of salt weighs 
one ounce. 

Cleaning Matting.— To clean and freshen old matting, rub it with a 
cloth wet in salt water, being careful not to allow any drops of water to dry 
in the matting, as they will leave spots difficult to remove. Heavy, var¬ 
nished furniture should never rest directly upon the matting, for even good 
varnish, becoming soft in warm weather, will stain the straw. Matting may 
be turned if the loose ends of the cords are threaded in a large needle and 
drawn through to the other side. 

To Remove Coffee or Milk Stains—The use of glycerine is recom¬ 
mended for this purpose. The silk, woolen, or other fabric is painted over 
with glycerine, then washed with a clean linen rag dipped in lukewarm rain 
water, until clean. It is afterwards pressed on the wrong side with a mod¬ 
erately warm iron as long as it seems damp. The most delicate colors are 
unaffected by this treatment. 


HINTS ANT HELPS. 


527 


To Mend Cracks in a Wall. —Mend cracks in a wall with plaster of 
Paris mixed with cold water to a very soft paste. Wet but little at a time, 
as it hardens rapidly, and cannot be used again. Apply with a knife blade. 
If the plaster is not convenient, till cracks with stiff flour paste, cover with 
a strip of white muslin, and whitewash over. Old, cracked closets look 
wonderfully well after this treatment. 

To Keep Milk. —If milk is brought just to the boiling point, then poured 
immediately into cans and sealed air tight, it will keep indefinitely. As the 
air is expelled by boiling, the milk keeps just as canned goods do. If glass 
jars are used they must be heated so that the boiling milk will not break 
them. Many families keep but one cow, and this plan will enable them to 
have milk during the weeks that she is dry. 

To Preserve Steel Pens._A simple mode of preventing ink from dam¬ 
aging metallic pens, is to throw either into the inkstand or the bottle in 
which the ink is kept, a few nails, broken bits of steel pens (not tarnished) 
or any other pieces of iron not rusted. The corrosive action of the acid con¬ 
tained in the ink is expended on the iron introduced. 

To Destroy Clinkers in a Stove. —Clinkers will accumulate on fire 
brick. Empty the stove or grate of coals and ashes; while hot, throw in two 
or three quarts of oyster shells, or a less quantity of salt, then cleave off 
the clinkers. 

To Clean Damask Curtains. —If crimson, wash well with ordinary 
soap and water, then rinse in clean cold water, wring through a wringing- 
machine, and hang in the open air to dry. If the curtains ai*e green, use 
gall instead of soap. Silk trimmings must be removed, as they cannot be 
cleaned. 

Hard Soap. —Six pounds sal-soda, four pounds unslacked lime, twenty- 
four quarts rain-water. Put all on the fire, and boil, then set oft' and let 
settle. Drain off and put over the fire with six pounds clear grease, and 
one-half pound rosin. Boil until it begins to thicken, throw in a couple 
handfuls of salt. Let cool and cut. 

To Clean Tea and Coffee Pots. —Discolored tea and coffee pots may 
be cleaned by filling them with water in which two or three tablespoonfuls 
of wood ashes have been placed, and letting it boil up, then wash thoroughly 
with hot soapsuds, and rinse. 

Ink on Clothing. —To extract ink from cotton, silk, or woolen goods, 
dip the spots in spirits of turpentine, and let it remain for several hours; 
then rub thoroughly between the hands, and it will all disappear without 
changing either the color or texture of the fabric. 

Volatile Soap, for Removing Paint, Etc. —Four tablespoonfuls of 
spirits of hartshorn, four tablespoonfuls of alcohol, and a tablespoonful of 
salt. Shake the whole well together in a bottle, and apply with a spouge or 
brush. 

To Clean Damps. —Oil lamps sometimes burn dimly because of their 
becoming incrusted inside with the settling from the oil. Take soapsuds 
and fill the lamp about one-third full; then put in a little coarse sand and 
shake vigorously. Every particle of the settling will soon bo removed. 


528 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


To Clean Tinware. —An experienced housekeeper says the best thing 
for cleaning tinware is common soda. She gives the following direciions: 
Dampen a cloth and dip in soda and rub the ware briskly, after which wipe 
dry. Any blackened ware can be made to look as well as new. 

To Revive a Mattress. —When mattresses get hard and bunchy, rip 
them, take the hair out, pull it thoroughly by hand, let it lie a day or two to 
air, wash the tick, lay it in as lightly and evenly as possible, and catch it 
down as before. Thus prepared they will be as good as new. 

Removing Iodine Stains. --To remove iodine stains from linen, dip the 
stained portion in cold water, and then hold over the tire until dry, re¬ 
peating the operation until the stain is removed. 

How to Give Finish to Woolen Articles. —Hold the article over boil¬ 
ing water. When it is thoroughly dampened, fold in good shape and put 
under a linen press. This process gives them a flat, even and smooth 
appearance. 

To Perfume Linen. —Rose leaves, dried in the shade, or at about four 
feet from a stove, one pound; cloves, caraway seeds, and allspice, of each 
one ounce—pound in a mortar, or grind in a mill; dried salt, a quarter of a 
pound; mix all together, and put into muslin bags. 

To Clean Gold. —Powder some whiting, and make it into a moist paste 
with some sal-volatile. Cover over the gold ornaments and surface with a 
soft brush; let it dry, and then brush it off with a moderately hard brush. 

To Restore the Color of Silks. —When the color of silks has been de¬ 
stroyed by any strong acid, it may be restored by carefully wetting the spot 
with a strong soap lather, to which a little saleratus has been added. When 
the color has been taken out by fruit stains ammonia will restore it. 

To Exterminate Cockroaches. —Borax is a very good cockroach exter¬ 
minator. Take some pieces of board, spread them over with molasses, only 
sufficient to make the borax when sprinkled upon it stick, and place the 
boards in their haunts. 

To Clean Carpets. —Carpets may be cleaned without taking up by 
sprinkling them over with moist tea leaves and sweeping well. Then sprin¬ 
kle Fuller’s earth very thickly over the grease spots, cover them with a 
sheet of brown paper and iron with a warm smoothing iron until the spots 
disappear. 

To Prevent Wooden Bowls from Cracking. —Either pour sweet, hot 
lard in them, or immerse in cold water, bring to the boiling point, boil an 
hour longer, then let the water cool gradually, when the bowl may be taken 
out. 


To Perfume Clothes. —Cloves, in coarse powder, one ounce; cassia, one 
ounce; lavender flowers, one ounce; lemon peel, one ounce. Mix and put 
them into little bags, and place them where the clothes are kept, or wrap 
the clothes around them. They will keep off insects. 

To Re-color Hair. —Get one yard of seal brown or black common cam¬ 
bric. Put in cold water and boil till the color is well out, then a(fd the switch 
and boil slowly two hours. Dry, and if not dark enough, repeat. 


HINTS AND HELPS. 


529 


To Clean a Chimney. —To clean a chimney, place a piece of zinc on 
the live coals in the stove. The vapor produced by the zinc will carry off 
the soot by chemical decomposition. Those who have tried the process 
claim that it will work every time. 

To Remove a Screw Rusted in the Wood. —Heat a poker in the fire 
red-hot, and put it on the top of a screw for a minute or two; then take the 
screw-driver, and you will easily get it out, if you do it whilst it is warm. 

To Clean Articles Made of White Zephyr. —Put in flour of magnesia, 
changing often, shake off the flour and hang in the open air a short time. 

Improvement in Chandeliers —To renew a dusty and discolored 
chandelier, apply a mixture of bronze powder and copal varnish. The 
druggist where they are purchased will tell you in what proportion they 
should be mixed. 

Crust in Kettles. —This is formed by every sort of water except rain 
water. A simple mode of prevention is to place a large marble in the kettle, 
which, by attracting the mineral particles in the water, will keep the inside 
free. 

Jelly Molds. —Jelly molds should be greased with cold butter. When 
you wish to remove the jelly or pudding, plunge the mold into hot lvater, 
remove quickly, and the contents will come out in perfect form and without 
any trouble. 

To Clean Old Lamp-Burners. —Wash them in ashes and water, and 
they will come out bright as new. Many times a burner is condemned be- 
cmise the light is poor, when, having clogged up with sediment, the wick is 
at fault. 

To Give a Stove a Fine Brilliant Appearance. —A teaspoonful of 
pulverized alum mixed with stove polish will give the stove a fine lustre, 
which will be quite permanent. 

To Improve Beefsteak. —A tablespoonful of strong coffee put in the 
gravy of melted butter, pepper and salt to be poured over beefsteak, im¬ 
parts a delicious flavor to gravy and meat. It makes the gravy a rich brown. 

Care of a Coffee Pot. —A carelessly kept coffee pot will impart a rank 
flavor to the strongest infusion of the best Java. Wash the coffee pot thor¬ 
oughly every day, and twice a week boil borax water in it for fifteen 
minutes. 

To Remove Stains from Tableware. —A little saleratus rubbed oil 
with the finger or a bit or linen, will remove stains from cups and other 
articles of tableware. It will also remove spots from marbleized oilcloths, 
and many stains from tin ware. 

To Beat Eggs Quickly.— To beat the whites of eggs quickly put in a 
pinch of salt. The cooler the eggs the quicker they will froth. Salt cools 
and also freshens them. 

Airing Feather Beds.— Never sun feather beds. Air them thoroughly 
on a windy „day in a cool place. The sun draws the oil, and gives the 
feathers a rancid smelj. 


530 


THE HOUSEHOLD. 


To Clean Diamonds. —To clean diamonds nicely, wash in soap-suds, 
rinse in alcohol, and dry in sawdust; then brush with a soft brush, and 
polish with fine tissue paper. 

straw Matting. —A thin coat of varnish applied to straw matting will 
make it much more durable and keep the matting looking fresh and new. 
White varnish should be used on white matting. 

To Stop Mouse-Holes. —Stop mouse-holes with plugs of common hard 
soap, and you will do it effectually. Rats, roaches and ants will not disre¬ 
gard it. 

To Take Rust Out of Steel. —Cover the steel with sweet oil, well 
rubbed in. In forty-eight hours rub with finely powdered, unslaked lime 
until the rust disappears. 

To Restore tlie Color of Black Kid Boots. —Take a small quantity of 
good black ink, mix it with the white of an egg, and apply it to the boots 
with a soft sponge. 

Finger Marks on Mirrors. —Tor washing finger marks from looking- 
glasses or windows, put a few drops of spirits of ammonia on a moist rag, 
and make quick work of removing them. 

To Keep Seeds From file Depredations of Mice. —Mix some pieces of 
camphor with them. Camphor placed in trunks or drawers will prevent 
mice from doing them injury. 

To Clean Zinc. —A good way to clean zinc is to rub it with a piece of 
cotton cloth dipped in kerosene; afterward rub it with a dry cotton cloth, 
and it will be as bright as when new. 

To Imitate Ground Glass. —A ready way of imitating ground glass is 
by dissolving Epsom salts in ale (don’t use this as a beverage) and apply¬ 
ing with a brush; as it dx-ies it crystallizes. 

For Rusty Stove Pipe. —Rub with linseed oil, a little goes a good way; 
build a slow fire at first till it dries. Oil in the spring to prevent it from rusting. 

Finger Marks on a Piano. —To i*emove finger-marks on a highly pol¬ 
ished piano, wipe with a cloth wet in pure cold water. It does not injure in 
the slightest, if wiped dry, and restoi’es the new look at once. 

To Sweeten Rancid Bard. —Heat the lard, and when melted slice 
three or four pared potatoes; continue heating until the slices (which 
should be quite thin) are well browned. 

To Improve Tin Kettles. —Kerosene will make tin kettles as bright as 
new. Saturate a woolen rag and rub with it. It will also remove stains 
from clean varnished furniture. 

To Wliiten Ivory. —Discolored ivoi'y may be whitened by rubbing it 
with a paste composed of burnt pumice stone and water, and then place it 
under glass in the sun. 

To Pack Canned Goods. —Pack canned fruits in saw-dust. This ma¬ 
terial will certainly help to keep the cans cool in sximmer and prevent freej^ 
ing in winter. 





INDEX. 


> 


Abscess, 446. 

Acorn, the, 410. 

Airy nothings, 331. 

Amaryllis, the, 411. 

Ambrosia, 332. 

Animals, sick, charcoal for, 165. 

Ankles, weak, 460. 

Ants, several ways to destroy, 486. 

Apiary, mice in the, 240, 

Apples, thawing frozen, 276; 
spiced, 305; 
pickled, 315; 
rice and, 325; 
steamed, 325; 
stewed, 326; 
to keep. 491. 

Apple, the coddling moth and other 
enemies of the, 116; 
charlotte, 316, 333; 
souffle, 316; 
dumplings, 317; 
snow, 334. 

Apple trees, grafting, 107; 
suggestion regarding, 118; 
bark lice on, 123. 

Ashes, an experiment with, 77; 
bones and combining, 80. 

Asparagus, 86; 
as a lawn plant, 100; 
culture, new ideas in, 102; 
to cook, 294; 
with eggs, 294; 
pickled, 303. 

Asthma, 447. 

Autumn leaves, preserving, 396. 

Axle grease, 272. 

Bachelor’s buttons, 338. 

Bag for knitting work, 374. 

Bag holders, 253. 

Baking powder, home made, 512. 

Baldness, 438. 

Bananas, fried, 317. 

Barn, an octagonal, construction of, 15; 
plan for a, 16; 
a complete stock, 19; 
a convenient, 20; 
cellar, cheap, 21; 
an old, how improved, 22; 
doors, hanging on rollers, 24. 

Barometer, a handy and cheap, 496. 

Baskets, hanging, imitation coral, 349; 
hanging, cheap and pretty, 383; 
moss, how to make, 408; 

Basket, work, 352, 375; 
hanging, 355; 

ornamental scrap bag or, 356; 
for fruit, 358; 
fancy card, 359; 


Basket, toilet or work, 364; 
baby, 378; 

rustic hanging, 390. 

Bath, a vapor, 459. 

Bay rum, 467. 

Bean poles, substitute for, 102. 

Beans and other climbers, poles for, 95; 
haricot, 298; 

Lima, with cream, 300. 

Bedbugs, to exterminate, 495. 

Bed covering, a very cheap, 490. 
Bedding, leaves for, 168. 

Beds, the best kind of, 491; 

airing feather, 529. 

Bee farming in Australia, 234; 
will keeping pay, 237; 
hive, an unpatented, 238; 
keepers, young, advice to, 239. 

Beef, potted, 283; 
rolls, 284; 
boiled corn, 285; 
frizzled, 290; 
spiced, 290; 

the best known receipt for corning, 
498; 

tough, to make tender, 511. 

Beefsteak, French, 283; 
a delicious, 287; 
to improve, 529. 

Beer, ginger, 345; 
white spruce, 345; 
table, 346; 
root, 346; 
nice lemon, 346. 

Bees, wintering, 232; 

the culture of buckwheat for, 237. 
Beets, 95; 
sugar, soil for, 99; 
sugar, culture of, 102; 
baked, 297. 

Biliousness, 445. 

Birds, what accomplish, 267. 

Biscuits, German cream, 309; 
graham, 309; 
rice, 310; 
block, 310; 
ginger, 310; 
tea, 311. 

Biscuit, squash, 308; 
oatmeal, 309; • 
glaze, 344. 

Blackberry and whortleberry, the, 134. 
Blacking, waterproof, 509; 

excellent paste, 517. 

Black leg, 169. 

Black walnut, to polish, 501. 

Blanc mange, 333; 
corn starch, 332. 





532 


INDEX 


Blankets, to wash, 473. 

Bleeding, to stop, 427. 

Blindness, how produced, 150. 

Blister, blood, 458. 

Blood, the, to purify, 452. 

Bluefish, baked, 292. 

Blue grass and timothy, 57. 

Bluing, 477. 

Boils, 456. 

Bonnet, a straw, to bleach, 507. 

Boots, rubber, mending, 494; 
and shoes, polish for, 511; 
kid, to renovate the top of, 517; 
black kid, to restore the color of, 530. 
Bots, 147. 

Bouquet, a, to keep fresh, 410; 

de la Reine, 470. 

Bouquets, arranging, 405. 

Boav, the Hungarian, 377. 

Bowls, wooden, to prevent from crack¬ 
ing, 528. 

Box, handkerchief, 366; 

glove, and cover, 370. 

Braid trimming, feather edged, 379. 
Bran, straw and, 173; 

feeding with meal, 173. 

Brass or copper, several ways to clean 
and polish, 485. 

Bread, graham, to make, 307; 
to keep moist, 307; 
rice, 307; 

Southern batter or egg, 307; 

Indian, 307, 310; 
brown, 308; 
cheese cakes, 308; 
dyspepsia, 309; 
good brown, 309; 
steamed brown, 310; 
old maid, 310; 
improving, 310; 
cottage, 311. 

Bread making, 514; 

eight points in, 306. 

Breakfast, a nice dish for, 280; 
dish, 280; 

potato cakes for, 280; 
dish, a cheap, 280. 

Breath, offensive, 426; 

the, to sweeten, 467. 

Breeding males, selecting, 154. 

Bright’s disease, 441. 

Britannia metal, to clean, 501. 

Brittle feet, 151. 

Bronchitis, 448. 

Broom, a, the use of, 498. 

Brown Betty, 317. 

Bug-catcher, a handy, 47. 

Bugs, gas tar as a remedy for, 97. 
on vines, to destroy, 98; 
water, positive cure for, 521. 

Bulbs, manure for, 407. 

Bull, ringing a, 155. 

Bunions, 450. 

Burdocks, remedy for, 275. 

Burns and scalds, 424. 

Butter, how to make good, 223; 
to keep, 226; 

wrappers, waterproof, 226; 
rancid, to restore, 226; 
making, French 227; 


Butter, preparing for market, 228 
keeping for winter use; 228; 
making, first principles in, 229; 
borax for salting, 230; 
don’t flavor too much, 230; 
to color, 230; 
firm without ice, 231; 
orange, 332; 

S each, 313, 333; 

;avana, 333; 
scotch, 347; 
to purify, 517; 

to improve and preserve, 523; 
Butter-Avorker, an improved, 227. 
Cabbage, fertilizer for 94; 
club root in, 99; 
lille, 297; 
baked, 297; 

unpleasant odor from, 521. 
Cabbages, early, Iioav to groAv, 93; 
uo\ T el method of groAviug, 94; 
red, to pickle, 305. 

Caked udder, 170. 

Cake johnny, 310; 
bon-ton wedding, 334; 
suoav jelly, 334; 
rich coffee, 335; 
marble, 335; 
lemon, 335; 
watermelon, 335; 
frosting for, 336; 
cocoanut, 336; 
apple, 336; 
angel, 336; 
a useiul, 336; 

Dolly Varden, 336; 
almond, 337; 
raised raisin, 337; 
straAvberry or red, 337; 
farmer’s fruit, 337; 
ice cream, 337; 
rice, 337; 
pineapple, 337; 
banana, 338; 
bread, 338; 
block, 338; 
layer, filling for, 338; 
huckleberry, 339; 

Boston, 339; * 
queen’s, 339; 
cream, 339; 

Mrs. Crabtree’s, 339; 
loaf seed, 340; 

Adelaide, 340; 
fruit cream. 340; 
tea, 340; 

Christmas, 340; 
molasses sponge, 340; 
corn, 341; 
fruit, 341, 342; 
jelly, to roll, 341; 
mother’s tea, 341; 
choice fig, 341; 
currant, 341; 
layer, 341; 
hickory nut, 341; 
molasses, 342; 
sponge, 342; 
clove, 342; 
feather, 342; 






INDEX. 


533 


Cake, Snowden, 342; 
chocolate, new way to prepare, 342; 
to flavor, 343; 

White Mountain, 343; 
railroad sponge, 343; 
plum. 343; 

Virginia snow, 343; 
water pound, 343; 
no egg, 343; 
cup, 343; 
gold, 343; 

baking, hints on, 493. 

Cakes, bread griddle, 277; 
buckwheat, 277; 
corn griddle, 278;- 
wheat griddle, 278; 
breakfast corn, 278; 
fried meat, 286; 
clam, 293; 
green corn, 299; 
buttermilk, 338; 
coffee, 338; 
honey, 339; 
cream tea, 339; 

Boston tea, 340; 
fried, without eggs, 341. 

Calf weaner, 167. 

Calico, to prevent from fading, 481. 

Callas, treatment of, 409. 

Calves, raising, 165; 
scours in, 173. 

Canada thistles, killing, 57. 

Canaries, 520. 

Cancer, 428. 

Candle, a, to burn all night, 519. 

Candy, walnut, 347; 
almond, 347; 
chocolate, 347; 
cocoanut, 348; 
vanilla, 348. 

Cane chair bottom, to restore, 508. 

Cankers, 460. 

Canned goods, to pack, 530. 

Caponizing, 195. 

Card receiver and watch case, hanging, 
361. 

Carnations from cuttings, 408. 

Carpet, a, taking up, 519. 

Carpets, cleaning, 493; 
to remove grease from, 500; 
to renovate, 502; 
to restore the color of, 508; 
to clean, 528. 

[Carriage, a, to preventfrom spotting, 274. 

1 Carriage-house and stable, model, 24. 

[Carrots, stewed, 298. 

Cases, handkerchief, 370. 

Case, slipper, 360; 
toilet bottle, 362; 
scissor and needle cushion, 372. 

Cashmere, black, to cleanse, 482. 

Catarrh, 436. 

Catch-all, 363. 

Catsup, tomato, 303; 
cucumber, 305; 
currant, 306; 
grape, 306. 

Cattle, in cornstalks, 156; 
relieving choked, 157; 
rack, 159; 


Cattle, economy in feeding, 159; 
to prevent from hooking fences, 161; 
black tongue in, 162; 
lice on, 163; 

how practical farmers manage their, 
167; 

sores on, 170; 
cornstalks for, 171; 
jumping, 172, 
the best feed for, 172; 
phosphates for, 172. 

Cauliflower, 89; 
water necessary to, 102; 
fried, 296; 
baked, 299; 
pickled, 302. 

Ceilings, smoky, to clean, 522. 

Celery, 87; 

an easy method of blanching, 88. 
Cellars, mold in, 276. 

Cement, a good, 498; 
for fastening instruments in handles, 
504; 

a, withstanding heat and moisture, 
505; 

to mend china, 510; 

for kerose ne oil lamps, 511; 

glycerine, 519; 

for glass, crockery, etc., 522. 

Chair cover, embroidered, 379. 

Chairs, old cane, upholstering, 494. 
Chandeliers, improvement in, 529. 
Charlotte Russe, 330. 

Cheese, to keep from mold, 503; 

mites in, 522. 

Cherries, preserved, 312. 

Cherry trees, diseased, 116. 

Chicken and duck enclosure, 195; 
coop, a, 210; 

coop, an inexpensive, 216; 
cholera, 216; 
fountain, a cheap, 217; 
lice, 217; 

Viennese style, 283; 
patties, 284; 

Virginia fried, 284; 
a la mode, 284; 
boned, 286; 
fried, 287; 
fritters, 287; 
croquette, 287; 
pressed, 289. 

Chickens, artificially hatched, how to 
raise, 198; 

raising by artificial mothers, 203; 

late, 219; 

smothered, 284; 

new way of cooking, 287. 

Chilblains, 440. 

Child, a young, food for, 459. 

Childhood, dangers of, 414. 

Children, nursing, 455; 

teething, ice for, 457. 

Children’s falls, 427. 

Chimney, a burning, 513; 
ornaments, crystallized, 516; 
to clean a, 629. 

Chimneys, smoky, 512; 
lamp, care of, 522; 
lamp, to keep from cracking, 526. 



534 INDEX. 


Chocolate, Iceland moss, 345. 

Choking, 460, 

Cholera morbus, 441; 
infantum, 458. 

Chowder, fish, 291. 

Chromos, to mount, 517. 

Churning, power for, 224; 
hard, and blue cream, 225. 

Cider, how to preserve, 266; 
how to keep sweet, 517. 

Cisterns, 263; 
to purify, 263. 

Citron, preserved, 314. 

Clams with cream, 292; 
panned, 292; 
how to cook, 293. 

Clod crusher, a, 251; 
a good, 245. 

Closets, damp, 523. 

Cloth, black, to renovate, 509. 

Clothes brush holder, 354; 
washing without fading, 477; 
a French way of washing, 477; 
new mixture used in washing, 478; 
to take mildew from, 479; 
bars, convenient, 473; 
sprinkler, 475; 
care of, 501; 
grease spots on, 506; 
to perfume, 528. 

Clothing, winter, putting away, 525; 
ink on, 527. 

Cockroaches, to exterminate, 528. 

Codfish with cream, 291; 
balls, 292. 

Coffee, good, to make, 277; 
cream, 330; 

and tea pots, to clean, 527; 
pot care of a, 529. 

Cold in the head, 436; 
taking, 453. 

Colic, 444; 
in infants, 453. 

Coloring recipes, 484. 

Colors, to set, 518. 

Color, to restore, 516. 

Colt, raising a, 138; 
to bit a, 139. 

Colts, ringbones on, 149. 

Combs, fine toothed, to clean, 524. 

Complexion, the, pearl water for, 469. 

Compost, ashes in the, 75; 
materials for, 79. 

Cones, cocoanut, 332. 

Conserve, lemon, 333. 

Consumption, 429; 
the earliest sign of, 444. 

Contagion, to prevent, 455. 

Conveniences, household, 494 

Convulsions, 443. 

Cookies, 342; 
good plain, 335; 
currant, 336; 
molasses, 337; 
soft, 340; 
hickory nut, 342; 
ginger, 342^ 
cocoanut, 343. 

Copying-ink, 518. 

Corn, hilling injurious to, 40; 


Corn crib, an Ohio, 40; 
seed, 41, 56; 
crib, a convenient, 41; 
cribs, cheap, 42; 
the enemies of, 43; 
seed saving, 44; 
fodder, curing, 44; 
culture, 44; 
points on, 44; 

raising good in a dry season, 45; 
cabbages with, 45; 
with tomatoes, 300; 
beans, etc., to can, 489; 
sweet, canning, 500. 

Corn-marker, a good, 245. 

Corns, 434. 

Corn-sheller, a home-made, 249. 

Corpulence, 452. 

Corsets, to clean, 513. 

Cosmetics, 464. 

Costiveness, 440. 

Cottage, an inexpensive, 11; 
an ornamental country, 12. 

Cottons, colored, to wash, 478. 

Coughs and colds, 435. 

Cow, marks of a good, 158; 
horse or, to test the health of a, 169 
how to milk a, 170; 
foul foot in a, 171. 

Cows, milch, bone disease in, 158; 
good, how ruined, 160; 
milch, currying, 161; 
to prevent kicking, 162; 
the soiling system with, 164; 
winter themselves, 171; 
kicking, 171; 
warm water for, 171; 
celery tops for, 172; 
garget in, 173. 

Crabs, deviled, 292. 

Crackers, home made, 307; 
oatmeal, 308. 

Cracks in a wall, to remove, 527. 

Cramp in the leg, 456; 
in bathing, 459. 

Cramps, 452. 

Cranberries, to keep all winter, 523. 

Cranberry culture, 130. 

Cream and cold, 226; 
whipped, 331; 

Dorcas American, 332; 
velvet, 332; 
apple, 334; 
chocolate, 334; 

Caledonian, 334; 
pineapple Bavarian, 329; 
cold, 468. 

Creams, walnut, 346. 

Cribbing, 151. 

Cribs, hemlock, 152. 

Croup, 433. 

Crow’s nest, 319. 

Crows, to banish from a field, 56. 

Crullers, 343. 

Cucumbers on trellises, 93; 
melons and, boxes for, 93- 
melons and, early, 101; 
stewed, 295. 

Curbing, a good well, 273. 

Curculio, plum, destroying the, 114; 





INDEX, 


535 


Curculio, tomato leaves a remedy for 
the, 116; 

plum, protection against the, 117* 
Currants, spiced, 306- 
frosted, 311. 

Currant worm, the, easy method of dis¬ 
posing of, 136. 

Curry, 285. 

■curtains, damask, to clean, 527. 
Cushion, needle, 357. 

Custard, apple, 317; 
coffee, 318; 
cream, 319; 
floating island, 320; 
lemon, 322; 
raspberry, 325; 
sweet apple, 326; 
tapioca, 326; 
snow, 331. 

Custards, chocolate cream, 318. 
Dandruff, 450. 

Deafness, 459. 

Decorating, a lesson in, 359. 

Dessert, 332; 
salad, 305; 
simple, 326; 

orange, cream pie and, 331. 
Diamonds, to clean, 530. 

Diarrhoea, 433; 

diet during, 457. 

Diphtheria, 432. 

Discovery, a valuable, 509. 

Dish, an excellent, 283; 
a nice supper, 288; 
excellent tea, 289; 
a good breakfast, 289; 
a delicious, 298; 
wiping, 506. 

Disinfectant, simple, 456, 518. 
Doughnuts, 342. 

Drainage, value of, 267; 

a suggestion for, 270. 

Draining wet land, 271. 

Dress, a muslin, to wash, 480; 

a calico, to iron, 482. 

Drink, cherry effervescing, 345; 

cool summer, 346. 

Drops, peppermint, 347; 

lemon, 348. 

Dropsy, 450. 

Drowning, to restore the, 441. 

Ducks, how to raise, 218. 

Duck, to cook a, 289; 

imitation, 298. 

Dysentery, 431. 

Dyspepsia, 430. 

Earache, 422. 

Ear, the, removing substances from, 458; 

the, deficiency of wax in, 458. 

Eau de cologne, to make, 469. 

Edging, wheat ear, 357. 

Egg nogg, 344. 

Egg plant, stuffed, 295; 
fried, 300. 

Egg production, winter, 209. 

Eggs, packing for market, 201; 
and pullets, 212; 

preserving—several practiced meth¬ 
ods, 214; 
infertile, 217; 


Eggs, how increased, 219; 
scrambled, 279; 
a la creme , 279; 

Newport style, 279; 

stuffed, 279; 

cupped, 280; 

ala mode , 280; 

a good way to cook, 280; 

snow, 330; 

to beat quickly, 529. 

Embroidery designs, 350; 
flower patterns, for, 368; 

Mosaic, 380. 

Emetic, a prompt, 460. 

Ensilage, 258; 
silos and, 264. 

Entree, an appetizing, 296. 

Erysipelas, 449. 

Eye, dust in the, 419. 

Eyes, weak and inflamed, 418; 
sore, 458; 

scrofulous sore, 460. 

Face, the, eruptions on, 466; 
the, black spots on, 468. 

Fainting, 456. 

Farm, a, what goes with, 259. 

Farmer, signs of a prosperous, 274. 

Feathers, to dye, 492; 
to wash and curl, 492; 
ostrich, to clean, 511; 
how to preserve, 525, 

Feeding, how to save oats in, 150; 
and laying, 210. 

Feet, the, relief for, 454; 
swelled, and ankles, 457; 
cold, 460; 
swelled. 460; 
hands or, blistered, 446. 

Felons, 429. 

Fences, farm, 27. 

Fence, straight rail, 29; 
posts, durable, 30; 
posts, to preserve, 32; 
a good, 33; 
post and rail, 33; 
for marsh or soft soil, 36. 

Fern paradise at home, a, 405; 
case, gypsy, 408. 

Ferns in the house, 403. 

Fertilizer, refuse salt as a, 65; 
a patent, which anybody may use, 74; 
clover as a, 76; 
bran as a, 80. 

Fertilizers, home made, for the com¬ 
mon farmer, 59; 
something in regard to, 60; 
formulas for commercial, 66; 
versus plant food, 67; 
making our own, 68; 
application of, 74; 

Peter Henderson on, 77; 
saving, 78; 
facts regarding, 79; 
a good investment, 80. 

Fever, scarlet, 437; 
coffee and typhoid, 446; 
chills and, 449; 
intermittent, salt in, 453’ 
treatment for, 458; 
drink in cases of, 460. 



536 


INDEX . 


Figs, tomato, to make, 346. 

Fires, kerosene, 521. 

Fish culture for the farm, 269; 
croquettes, 293. 

Fits, 450. 

Flannels, whitening yellow, 478. 

Flannel, to wash, 474. 

Flapjacks, lemon, 278,323. 

Flat-irons, rusty, to clean, 482. 

Fleas, to exterminate, 512. 

Flies, remedy for, 505; 
to get rid of, 524. 

Floors, stain for, 506; 
filling for cracks in, 510; 
wooden, cleaning, 516; 
to color walnut tint, 517. 

Flour, care of, 522. 

Flowers, fresh-blown, in winter, 404; 
essence from, 467; 
cut, to preserve, 513; 
withered, to revive, 524. 

Fodder, will it pay to steam, 174. 

Food, proportions of, 172. 

Founder, 147. 

Fowl, cure for scaly legs in, 219; 
hashed, 287; 
to dress cold, 288; 
a, how to dress properly, 497. 

Fwls, feeding hoppers for, 208; 
^grain-chest for, 213; 
gapes in, 218. 

Fractures to ascertain, 457. 

Frames, shell, to make, 514; 
gilt, to cleanse, 518. 

Freckles, 461. 

Fritters, hominy, 279; 
apple, 315; 
delicious, 318; 
cream, 319; 
orange, 320; 
lemon, 323; 
pineapple, 324; 
raspberry, 325; 
rice, 325. 

Frosting, gelatine, 337. 

Fruit gatherer, a Belgian, 112; 
cellars, 113; 
thinning, 113, 
growers, maxims for, 115; 
growers, suggestions to, 118; 
growing jottings, 119; 
preserving, 123,525; 
pests, 125; 
canning, 495; 
stains, 496; 

jars, to prevent breaking, 499; 
extracts, etc., to make, 502; 
bottling, 509; 

cans, to determine if air tight, 509; 

jars, fastening, 515; 

jars, to render air tight, 519. 

Fruits, drying, 522. 

Fruit tree culture, 113; 
errors in, 112. 

Fruit trees, the best time to prune, 104; 
roots of, 111; 
how to fertilize, 111; 
manure for, 114; 

Insects injurious to, 115; 
girdling, 121 j 


Fruit trees, iron for, 125. 

Fuchsias, 395; 
among roses, 409. 

Furniture, marble top, how to clean, 
497; 

to remove bruises from, 523; 
walnut, for oiling, 523. 

Furs, to clean, 492; 
to keep in winter, 511; 
to dye, 516. 

Game, to remove fishy taste from, 287. 
Garden, a good, how to make, 83; 
hot water on the, 97; 
coal ash walks for the, 99; 
crops, rotation of, 82; 
house, rustic, 268. 

Gardens, small, seeds for, ICO. 

Garments, white knitted, to clean, 523; 

linen, to whiten, 524. 

Gate, always ready, 30; 
a good farm, 31; 
a cheap, 32. 

Gates, some fancy, 32. 

Geese, to fatten, 220. 

Gems, graham, 308; 
oatmeal, 309; 
corn, 310. 

Geranium, golden-leaved horseshoe, 

393. 

Geraniums, to keep through the winter, 
403; 

scarlet, to preserve through the win¬ 
ter, 407; 

steam baths for, 411; 
cut back the, 411. 

Gilding without a battery. 503. 
Gingerbread, muster, " old-fashioned, 
338. 

Glasses, hints about. 445. 

Glass, frosting, 507; ' 
to bore holes in, 508; 
how to cut, 510; 
mending, 515; 
to clean, 522; 

to remove putty from, 524; 
ground, to imitate, 530. 

Glassware, preserving, 497. 

Gloves, to clean, 503; 
kid, to clean, 505; 
kid, to restore, 519. 

Glue which will unite even polished 
steel, 504; 
marine, 510; 
liquid, 519. 

Gold, artificial, 491; 
to clean, 528. 

Gooseberries and currants, 134. 

Gout, 454. 

Grafting wax, 108. 

Grain chest, mice in the, 276. 

Graining, to wash, 499. 

Grapes, keeping, 127; 
keeping in cellars, 127; 
keeping in winter, 128; 
hardy, culture of, 129. 

Grape, the, how to prune, 128. 

Grape vines, winter care of, 127; 

bleeding, 129. 

Grasses, crystallizing, 410. 

Gravel walks, weeds on, 102. 






53 ? 


Gravy, thick, 286. 

Grease, to remove, 514; 
to take out of velvet, 520; 
to remove from a stove hearth, 520; 
baking griddle cakes without, 524. 
Green fly, the remedy for, 98. 

Green house, a miniature, 397. 

Ground moles, trapping, 262. 

Grubs, to get rid of, 98. 

Guano, home made, 79. 

Gum-boil or weakness of the gums, 459. 
Hair, gray, to prevent, 458; 
the, to prevent falling off, 462; 
the, pomade for, 465; 
the, rose bandoline for, 466; 
the, to curl, 467; 
dye, walnut, 468; 
to increase the growth of, 468; 
the, to thicken, 469; 
crimping, 469; 
wash, 469; 
the, care of, 469; 
the, oil of roses for, 470; 
restorative, 470; 
the, wash for, 470; 
brushes and combs, to clean, 505; 
to re-color, 528. 

Hairs, superfluous, to remove, 442. 
Halibut, smoked, to broil, 293. 

Ham, baked, 285; 
broiled, 290. 

Hammock, a, how to make, 496. 

Hams, how to cure, 272; 
plan for keeping, 275; 
to preserve from flies, 502. 
Handkerchief, a cambric, to wash, 480. 
Handkerchiefs, perfume for, 470. 

Hands, the, to soften, 463; 
the, to whiten, 463; 
chapped,466; 

the, to remove tar from, 522. 

Harness, washing, 276; 

a good suggestion about, 276. 

Harp, an aeolian, to make, 487. 

Hash, vegetable, 297. 

Hassock, a home made, 353. 

Hatching period, the', 204. 

Hats, cleaning, 522. 

Hay, clover, cutting, 55; 
making—a good suggestion, 55; 
elevating apparatus, 242. 

Headache, 425. 

Health, dieting for, 420. 

Heartburn, 451. 

Heaves, 148. 

Heifer or a vicious cow, a, liow to break 
to milk, 166. 

Hemorrhage, 447. 

Hennery, a model, 190; 

road-dust for the, 220. 

Hens, milk for, 202; 

eating eggs, 220. 

Hen’s nest, 332. 

Hiccough, 460. 

Hides, to tan, 259. 

Hint, a useful, 80. 

Hoarseness. 449. 

Hoeing, the philosophy of, 53; 
benefits of, 101; 

small crop, implement for, 247. 


Hog cholera, 178; 
raising, economy in, 183. 

Hogs, charcoal for, 180; 
as producers of manure, 181; 
bone meal for strengthening, 182; 
keeping clean, 182; 
hay for, 183; 
roots for, 183; 
water for, 183; 
squash for fattening, 183. 

Honey, artificial, 510. 

Honeysuckle, Dutch, in the house, 398. 

Horn, hollow, 168; 
brittleness, treatment of, 170. 

Horns, training, 167; 
cows’, rings on, 173. 

Horse, how to judge a, 137; 
feed for the, 137; 
balky, cure for, 142; 
a hide-bound, to recruit, 152. 

Horse’s age, how to tell a, 150. 

Horses, feeding, 138; 
to break from pulling at the halter, 141; 
warts on, 141; 
stumbling, 142; 
kicking, 143; 
vicious, training, 143; 
galls and sores on, 144; 
reining, 145; 
colic in, 146; 
epizootic in, 148; 
shying, 148; 
scratches, on, 149; 
sick, treatment of, 149; 
biting, a muzzle for, 150; 
the watering of, 151; 
linseed oil for, 151; 
avoiding indigestion in, 152; 
flies and, 152; 
to cool when hot, 152; 
sprains and bruises in, 152; 
worms in, 153; 
best method of cleaning, 153. 

Horseshoe, a convenient, 140. 

Horse’s legs, care of, 150. 

Hot slaw, 306. 

Housekeeper, what an old has learned, 
490. 

Husking, 45. 

Hydrophobia, 447; 
to prevent, 451. 

Hysterics, 443. 

Ice Cream, French vanilla, 343; 
crushed strawberry, 343; 
coffee, 344^ 
lemon, 344; 

Italian orange, 344. 

Ice, making and keeping, 255; 
orange, 344; 
lemon-water, 344; 
red currant fruit, 344; 
raspberry water, 344. 

Icing, chocolate, 342. 

Implements, farm, care of, 244. 

Incubators, good and cheap, 197. 

Indigestion, 454. 

Ink on books, 508; 
from carpets, 515; 
black, 515; 

indelible marking, 520; 




538 


INDEX. 


Ink stains on furniture, 521. 

Insect destroyer, potato juice as an,102; 
kerosene an, 117. 

Insecticide, a simple, 514. 

Insertions, knitted, 366. 

Ironers, hints to, 479; 

Iron, the, to prevent from sticking, 481; 
to prevent from rusting, 524. 

Irrigation, an easy method of, 136. 

Ivory, to whiten, 530. 

Ivy, English, treatment of, 408. 

Jam, raspberry, 313; 
white currant, 313; 
blackberry, 314; 
apple, 315; 
gooseberry, 315. 

Jaundice, 454. 

Jaws, sensitive, 153. 

Jellies without fruit, 314. 

Jelly, Russian, for invalids, 311; 
chicken, 311; 
mock champagne, 312; 
apple, 312; 
orange, 312; 
uncooked currant, 313; 
calf s foot, 313; 
coffee, 313; 
gooseberry, 314; 
blackberry, 314; 
crab apple, 314; 
lemon, 314; 
currant 315; 
tapioca, 315; 
isinglass, 315; 
gooseberry, 315; 
cranberry, 315; 
mold on, 521; 
molds, 529. 

Jewelry, gilt, to clean, 513; 
to brighten, 520. 

Jumbles, chocolate, 339. 

Kettles, new, 523; 
crust in, 529; 
tin, to improve, 530. 

Keys, how to fit into locks, 505. 

Kisses, 340. 

Kitchen floors, grease on, 503. 

Knock-knees, 454. 

Labor-saving invention, a, 511. 

Lace, antique, 359; 
spread, a handsome, 361; 
curtains, washing, 471; 
to wash, 475; 
black, to clean, 504; 
black, to freshen, 520. 

Lady Angers, 339. 

Lamb, mint sauce for, 288; 
delicious flavor to, 289. 

Lambs, early, 187. 

Lamp shade, 369; 
explosions, 506; 
chimneys, cleaning, 510; 
burners, old, to clean, 529. 

Lamps, to clean, 527. 

Langshans, the, 220. 

Lard, rancid, to sweeten, 530. 

Laundry, the, hints for, 478. 

Lavender water, 468. 

Lawn, rustic seats for the, 265. 

Lawns, salt and plaster on, 80; 


Lawns, improving, 275. 
to wash, 479. 

Laxatives, 458. 

Layers, how to produce, 213. 

Leather, to render waterproof, 498. 

Lemonade, ginger, 345; 
orangeade or, 345; 
effervescing, 346; 
milk, 346. 

Lemon float, 330; 
peel, candied, 348; 
leaves, use of, 521. 

Lemons, medical qualities of, 421. 

Limbs, frozen, 460; 

Lime, a few words about, 58. 

Linen, men’s, doing up, 476; 
how to gloss, 476; 
to bleach, 479; 
scorched, 480; 
to -whiten, 480; 
to remove rust from, 480; 
yellow, to whiten, 481; 
colored table, to wash, 482; 
cotton or, waterproof coating for, 520; 
to perfume, 528. 

Linens, black or navy blue, percales, 
etc., for washing, 479. 

Lip salve, 470. 

Lips, chapped, cure for, 470. 

Liquor appetite, 434. 

Liver, stewed, 288; 
fried as cutlets, 290; 
a good Avay to cook, 290; 
complaint, for, 452. 

Lockjaw, 448. 

Looking glasses, to clean, 513. 

Lungs, to ascertain the state of the, 443; 
the, to protect from dust, 456. 

Macaroni, 295; 
cheese, 297. 

Macaroons, 342; 
hickorynut, 340. 

Mackerel, broiled, 293. 

Malaria, preventives of, 412. 

Manui-e, composting, 63; 
salt as a, 64; 
what a pint did, 70; 
how to double the usual quantity of 
on the farm, 71; 
advantages of sheltering, 71; 
liquid, for gardening, 73; 
value of home-made, 75; 
for almost nothing, 77; 
poultry, 77; 
liquid, 78; 
how to apply, 78; 
spreading, 78; 
mixing in winter, 78; 
alternating, 79; 
hen, how to use, 79; 
a good garden, 80. 

Manures, variation in, 61; 
home-made vs. commercial, 69; 
green, 72; 

how to keep and spread, 75. 

Marble, to clean, 517. 

Mares, working in foal, 145. 

Marmalade, orange, 313; 
plum, 314; 
quince, 314. 







INDEX. 


539 


Marmalade, peach, 315. 

Martin boxes, 263. 

Matches, discolorations from, 497. 

Mats, table, 372; 
star, 377; 
neat, 378. 

Matting, cleaning, 526; 
straw, 530. 

Mattress, a, to revive, 528. 

Measles, 415. 

Meat, recipe for curing, 267; 
how to make tender, 288; 
fresh, how to keep, 508. 

Meats, to cure, 503. 

Melon culture, hints on, 92; 
andsquashculture,experimentsin,92; 
worm, the, 95. 

Menstruation, painful, anodyne for, 
455. 

Milking, apparatus for, 221. 
Milk-setting, suggestions in, 229. 

Milk, taste of turnips in, 168; 
the first, 169; 
cooler, 223; 
bitter, 230; 

hot, as a stimulant, 460; 
to keep, 527. 

Mink, skunk, etc., trapping the, 260. 
Mirrors, finger marks on, 530. 

Mixture, a valuable, 98. 

Mosquito remedy, 499. 

Motrh patches, 468. 

Moths, protection against, 485; 

in carpets, 515. 

Mouse-holes, to stop, 530. 

Mucilage, 507. 

Muck, experience with, 70. 

Muffins, hominy, 277; 
corn, 277; 
breakfast, 277; 
buttermilk, 277. 

Mulching, advantages of, 135. 

Mumps, 443. 

Mushroom culture, 83. 

Mushrooms, stewed, 297. 

Mustard, French, 305. 

Mutton cutlets in the Portuguese way, 
286; 

scrambled, 289. 

Nails, the, 469; 

driving into hard wood, 273. 

Neck, stiff, 459; 

enlarged, 460. 

Nervousness, 415. 

Nests, how should be made, 220; 

of sawdust, 220. 

Nettle rash, 445. 

Neuralgia, 422. 

Nipples, sore, 455. 

Nose bleed, 438. 

Oil cloths, how to clean, 511. 

Oil, coal, important use of, 270. 
Oleomargarine, how to detect, 231. 
Omelet, 279; 
a veal, 288; 
oyster, 290; 

tomato and onion, 299; 
cauliflower, 301. 

Onion growing, 90. 

Onions, a new method of raising, 91; 


Onions, bending down, 101; 
baked, 296; 
scalloped, 299; 
pickled, 304. 

Orange peel, candied, 348. 

Oranges, compoie of, 331; 
cold, 344. 

Orchard, management, 111; 
how to renew an, 112; 
ants in the, 124; 
cultivating the. 125. 

Ornament, parlor, 362, 405. 

Ottoman, 364. 

Over-reaching, 153. 

Oxen, care of, 173. 

Oyster patty, 292; 
toast, 293; 
macaroni, 293; 
loaf, 294. 

Oysters, spiced, 291; 
fried, 291; 
broiled, 291; 
pickled, 293, 305. 

Pail, a wooden, to take the woody taste 
out of, 524. 

Paint, for farmers, 274; 
for one cent a pound, 275; 
to remove from a wall, 520; 
volatile soap for removing, 527. 

Pancakes, French, 278; 
egg, 278; 
cream, 278; 
to make batter, 278. 

Pansy, how to grow the, 407. 

Paper, uses of, 506; 
to take grease from, 518. 

Parsley, 94. 

Partridge, roast, 288. 

Partridges, bread sauce for, 288. 

Paste, almond, 469; 
a good, 499; 

for cleaning knives, 513; 

for removing grease from silk, 518. 

Pastry, magic, 322; 
to ice, 323. 

Pasture lands, improving, 56. 

Peaches, spiced, 314; 
and plums, pickled, 315; 
with rice, 330. 

Peach trees, pruning, 106; 
diseased,118; 
borer, the, 118. 

Pear culture, points on, 109; 
blight and peach yellows, 115; 
blight, protection against, 117; 
trees, to preserve from blight, 125. 

Pears, what shall I grow, 120; 
hints on marketing, 124; 
apples and, hints on gathering, 125. 

Peas, green, to preserve for winter use, 
519. 

Pens, to improve, 517; 
steel, to preserve, 527. 

Pen wiper, 357. 

Perspiration, odor from, 457. 

Pests, insect, to destroy, 506. 

Piano, finger marks on a, 530. 

Pickle, egg, 301. 

Pickles, fine cucumber, 301; 
sweet cucumber, 304; 




INDEX. 


540 

Pickles, sweet, 306; 

to improve, 522. 

Picture frames, ivy for, 381. 

Pie-crust without lard, 328; 

oat-meal, 328. 

Pie, pigeon, 286; 

French chicken, 287; 
mutton, 289; 

Cornish fish, 293; 
tomato, 296; 
potato, 298; 
apple meringue, 327; 
cherry, 327; 
cream, 327; 
custard, 327; 
mock lemon, 328; 

Beverly, 328; 

corn-starch custard, 328; 
lemon, 328; 
lemon meringue, 328; 
apple custard, 328; 
rhubarb cream, 329; 
orange, 329; 
buttermilk, 329; 
rice, 329; 
pumpkin, 329; 

Marlborough, 329; 

Washington, 329; 
cocoanut, 329; 
peach, 329; 
prune, 329; 
banana, 334. 

Pies, spring mince, 327. 

Piggery, a winter, 174. 

Pig raising, 175; 
sty, a good, 178; 
the, as a plbwman, 179; 
scraping table, 181; 
a, how to give medicine, 182. 

Pigs, phosphates essential to, 181; 
paralysis in, 183; 
scurvy, 183. 

Piles, 459. 

Pillow sham, 353. 

Pimples, 464. 

Pincushion, 374; 

toilet, 357. 

Pineapples, to preserve in slices, 311. 
Pine work, to improve, 515. 

Pip, to cure, 212. 

Plant, basket, a beautiful, 398; 
stand, a cheap, 405; 
a novel house, 409; 
fertilizers, 411. 

Plants, protecting young, 98; 
starting early, 100; 
room, diseases of, 381; 
how to kill insects on, 387; 
ammonia for, 388; 
to prepare for winter, 391; 
house, selection of, 392; 
soil for, 392; 

sickly, hot-water cure for, 393; 
the mud system of slipping, 394; 
novel method of enriching, 397; 
house, growing in moss, 398; 
some new, offered by German florists, 
399; 

house, 406; 
tiellis for, 407; 


Plants, to re-pot, 40$; 
frozen, 409; 

potting and watering, 403; 
tender, covering for, 409; 
moving, 410; 
watering, 410; 
starting, 411. 

Plaster and ashes, use of, 69. 

Plow attachment, coulter cleaning 248, 
hand, 253. 

Plowing, experiments in, 51; 
early or late fall, 52. 

Plums, a suggestion to growers of, 114; 

Plush mosaic, 365; 
thermometer frame, 373; 
to clean, 509. 

Pneumonia, 412. 

Poisoning, ivy, 437. 

Poisons, antidotes for, 413. 

Polish, furniture, 489; 

French, 496; 
glycerine leather, 504; 
dressing, for leather, French, 504; 
stove, to improve, 520. 

Pop-corn, to sugar or crystallize, 347; 
balls, 347. 

Pop-overs, 324. 

Portfolio, music, and stand, 358; 
hanging, 373. 

Post driver, spile or, 246. 

Posts, easy method of taking up, 33. 

Potash, the work of, 74. 

Potato culture, 45; 
disease, the, 48; 
bugs, new remedy for, 51; 
dumplings, 296; 
croquettes, 298; 
snow, 300; 
pulfs, 300; 
fritters, 300; 
balls, 301. 

Potatoes, phosphate for, 46; 
methods of raising, 48; 
points about, 50; 
getting early, 50; 
raising, 50; 
in winter, 51; 

combining ditferent varieties of, 57; 

nitrogen for, 79; 

boiling, 294; 

snap beans and, 294; 

Saratoga, 295; 
a la Duchesse , 297; 
fried whole, 298; 
fried with butter, 299; 
fried, 299; 
scalloped, 300; 
browned, 300; 

to prepare for breakfast, 301. 

Potpie, peach, 324. 

Poultry house for chickens, a, 190; 
house, movable, 193; 
house, model, 194; 
keeping for profit, 203; 
house, a rustic, 204; 
packing for market, 205; 
raising as a business, 206; 
on a large scale, 207; 
raising, successful, 211; 
fish for, 212; 



INDEX 


541 


Poultry bouses, cheap, 215; 
manure, 220. 

Powder, tooth, 461; 
toilet, 466; 
scent, 468; 
violet, 470. 

Preserves, grape, 311; 
hints about making, 312; 
citron or watermelon, 313; 
plum, 315. 

Prickly heat, 455. 

Pruning—making the cut, 103; 
deciduous trees, 103; 
versus mutilation, 105; 
for fruit, 105; 

necessary precautions after, 106. 

Pudding, green corn, 301; 
amber, 316; 
apple, 316; 

all the year round, 316; 
an excellent, 316; 
a la elegante , 316; 
bread, 317; 
baked lemon, 317; 
bird’s nest, 317; 
cup plum, 317; 
chocolate, 318; 
cranberry, 318; 
cake, 319; 
cocoanut, 319; 
custard, 319; 
cream batter, 319; 
egg, 319; 
cracker, 319; 
citron, 319; 
cottage, 319; 
cracked wheat, 319; 
date or prune, 320; 
a delicious, 320; 
dandy, 320; 

English plum, 320; 
economical family, 320; 
fig, 321; 
farmer’s, 321; 
fruit, 321; 
ginger, 321; 
golden, 321; 
graham, 321; 
hard times, 321; 
home, 322; 

Indian, 322; 

Indian apple, 322; 
kiss, 322; 

Kent, 322; 

lemon meringue, 322; 
lemon, 323; 
mountain dew, 323; 
orange, 323; 
peach,323; 
pan, 324; 
pineapple, 324; 
plum, 324; 
puff, 324; 
quick, 324; 
sweet potato, 324; 
steamed, 324; 
new rice, 325; 
raisin, 325; 

Swiss, 325; 
suet, 325; 


Pudding, snow ball, 326; 
tip top, 326; 
tapioca, 326; 

Yorkshire, 327. 

Puddings, queen of, 324. 

Puffs, Indian meal, 310; 
tea, 310; 

Albany, 317; 

Spanish, 333. 

Pulmonary diseases, petroleum in, 452; 

complaints, 456. 

Purse, ladies’ fancy bag, 371. 

Queen’s wing, clipping the, 237. 

Quilt lining, 369. 

Quince snow, 334. 

Quinces, secret of raising, 125. 

Quinsy, 451. 

Rabbit, to cook a, 285. 

Radishes, to force, 102. 

Rain gauge, a cheap, 273. 

Raspberries, about, 133; 

blackberries and, trellises for, 136; 
Raspberry, red, 135. 

Rats and mice, 276; 
to exterminate, 173, 507; 
how to get rid of, 273. 

Razor, sharpening a. 507. 

Rectum, worms in the, 153. 
Refrigerator, an home made, 493; 
Rheumatism, 416; 

inflammatory, 451. 

Ribbons, to clean, 518; 

how to smooth, 524. 

Ringworm, 439. 

Roll, cranberry, 318; 
fruit, 321. 

Roller and vibrating harrow, combined, 
241. 

Rolls, French, 308; 
tea, 308; 

breakfast, without soda, 309; 
light, 309. 

Roly Poly, orange, 323. 

Roofs, how to thatch, 269; 

leaky, to repair, 273. 

Roof, to clean an old, 274. 

Room, a cheap and simple way to dis¬ 
infect a, 459; 
a, to purify, 513. 

Roots, raising, 54; 

storing, 55. 

Rose culture, 390. 

Roses, otto of, 467; 

French milk of, 470. 

Rosette, a, 363. 

Rosettes, 308. 

Roup, 219. 

Rugs, Persian, made at home, 351. 
Rusks tea, 310. 

Rust, iron, 481; 

to preserve bright grates or fire irons 
from, 518; 

to prevent in tinware, 519; 
to prevent, 521; 
to take out of steel, 530. 

Sachet, 370. 

Salad, delicious beet, 302; 
celery, 302; 
potato, 302; 
chicken, 302; 




INDEX. 


542 

Salad, how to dress, 303; 
lobster, 303; 
cauliflower, 303; 
tomato, 303; 
herring, 304; 
cabbage, 304; 

German, 304; 
carrot, 304; 
winter, 304; 
ham, 305; 
dressing, 305; 
fruit, 306; 
cucumber, 306; 
orange, 334. 

Sallie Lunn, 326. 

Salmon, broiled, 291; 

croquettes, 292. 

Salt rheum, 456. 

Sand hearts, 335. 

Sandwiches, egg, 310. 

Sauce pans, porcelain, to whiten, 518. 
Sauce, piquante, 285; 
a brown, 286; 
crab, 292; 

piquante for fish, 294; 
fish, 294; 
celery, 299; 

Robert, 299; 
tomato, 300; 
horse-radish, 300; 

Chili, 306; 

delicious apple, 317; 
cranberry, 318; 
egg, 320; 

for ginger pudding, 321; 
hard, for puddings, 322; 
molasses, 323, 
maple sugar, 323; 
pudding, 326; 
a fine pudding, 326; 
wine, for pudding, 327. 

Scald head, 420. 

Scarf, a table, 378. 

Sciatica, 444. 

Scissors, to sharpen, 521. 

Scorch, for taking out, 482. 

Scraper, Thomas’ no-patent, 250; 
a good, 251. 

Screen, how to make a, 359; 

an ivy, 401. 

Scrofula, 448. 

Scurf, 451. 

Seasickness, preventive of, 455. 

Seed, quantity of, to an acre, 53. 

Seeds, soaking, 53; 
saving, 81; 

flower, autumn sowing of, 407; 
to keep from the depredations of mice, 
530. 

Shade, extempore, for reading lamps, 502. 
Sham champagne, 345. 

Shampooing liquid, 470. 

Shawl, crocheted, 371. 

Shawls, Shetland, to wash, 478; 

white worsted, to clean, 482. 

Sheep, hurdling, 184; 
raising feed for, 185; 
to tell the age of, 185; 
ticks—how to get rid of them, 186; 
how to make pay, 187; 


Sheep, feed rack for, 188; 
why profitable, 188; 
tar the noses of, 189; 
poisoned, to cure, 189; 
crossing Merino on common, 18*. 

Sherbet, berry, 345. 

Shoeing, ignorance in, 152. 

Shoe soles, how to preserve, 516. 

Shoes, white kid, to clean, 519. 

Shortbread, Scotch, 308. 

Shortcake, strawberry, 325. 

Shorthorns, hints to breeders of, 153. 

Sick, how people get, 453. 

Silks, to restore the color of, 528. 

Silk, to determine the quality of, 495; 
cleaning black, 501. 

Silo, a, new way with, 264. 

Silver plate, to clean, 500; 
wash, celebrated recipe for, 523. 

Silverware, to prevent from tarnishing, 
495. 

Skeleton leaves, to prepare, 361. 

Skunks, to get rid of, 219. 

Sleeplessness, 439. 

Slipper, knitted dressing, 376. 

Small fruits, fall setting of, 135; 
easy method of cultivating, 135. 

Small pox, 438. 

Smilax for a curtain, 393; 
how to grow, 403. 

Smoke houses, 256. 

Snake bites, 458. 

Snaps, ginger, 340; 
coffee, 341. 

Snow balls, 333. 

Snowflake, 333. 

Snow plow, a, 252. 

Soap suds, 76; 
toilet, 469; 
to save, 481; 
hard, 527. 

Sofa pillow, 365; 
coverings, cleansing, 512. 

Soils, the fertility of, 72. 

Soil, the, how to enrich, 62; 
improving light, 78. 

Soldering and tinning, fluid for, 503. 

Something nice, 304. 

Soup, asparagus, 280; 
potato, 280; 
green pea, 281; 
cream-of-rice, 281; 
chicken cream, 281; 

Saturday, 281; 
cauliflower, 281; 
minute, 281; 
veal cream, 281; 
macaroni, 282, 
beef, 282; 
one day, 282; 
mutton, 282; 
poultry, 282; 
bean, 282; 
julienne, 282; 
codfish, 282; 
vegetable, 282; 
tomato, 283; 
summer, 283; 
plain, 283; 
okra, 283; 




INDEX. 


543 


Soup, clam, 293. 

Spasms, 459. 

Spavin and ringbone, cure for, 149. 
Spinach, 95; 

to cook, 296. 

Spirals, 332. 

Sponge drops, 341; 

garden, a, 400. 

Sponges, 517. 

Spotting, to prevent, 481. 

Sprains and bruises, 418. 

Squash culture, 92. 
stuffed, 295; 
scalloped, 298. 

Squashes, keeping winter, 91. 

Stable floors, best material for, 148. 
Stables, sawd ust for, 151; 

horse, flies in, 152. 

Staining woods, 487. 

Stains and spots, for the removal of, 
483; 

to remove from the hands, etc., 509; 
to remove from broadcloth, 516; 
to take from marble, 516; 
coffee or milk, to remove, 526; 
iodine, removing, 528; 
to remove from tableware, 529. 

Stall, kicking in the, 145. 

Stammering, 447. 

Stand, visiting card, 374; 
for cigar ashes, 377; 
rustic flower, 395; 
a home made flower, 410. 

Starch, gum arabic, 479; 
to prevent lumps in, 481; 
potato, to make, 481; 
alum in, 481. 

Steak, the right way to cook, 290. 

Steel articles, to clean, 516. 

Stew, Irish, 296. 

Stings, bee, 456. 

Stitch, star, 379. 

Stock, an inexpensive relish for, 155; 
cheap shelter for, 164; 
feed rack for, 166; 
feeding, science applied to, 166; 
roots for, 171; 
mixing hay for, 172; 
carrots for, 172; 
overfeeding, 176. 

Stockings, faded blue, to restore, 482; 

to color blue, 515. 

Stomach, sickness of, 448; 
acid, 457. 

Stove, clinkers in a, to destroy, 527; 
a, to give a fine, brilliant appearance, 
529* 

pipe,’for rusty, 530; 

Stoves, to blacken, 523. 

Strawberries, preparing soil for, 131; 
when to plant, 131; 
covering, 132; 
cultivation of, 133. 

Strawberry vines, winter protection of, 
136; 

bed, setting a, 136. 

Straw, how to stack, 39; 

Streaking, to prevent, 480. 

Stumps, ridding the land of, 262; 
blasting, 269; 


Stumps, burning, 273. 

Stye on the eyelid, 451. 

Succotash, 297. 

Sugar, save your, 514. 

Suggestions, general, to those intending 
to build, 12. 

Sunburn, 465. 

Sunstroke, 454; 
to prevent, 457. 

Superphosphate, home made, 76. 
Swallow, protect the, 275. 

Swarms, how to catch, 240. 

Sweeping, 512. 

Sweet potatoes, how to keep, 49. 

Swill, poisonous, 183. 

Swine, sanitary management of, 177; 
preparing food for, 181; 
raising, 182. 

Syllabub, Staffordshire, 345. 

Syrup, lemon, 312. 

Table covers, etc., 354; 
etiquette, 488; 

for housewives, a useful, 516. 

Tables, to remove marks from, 523. 

Taffy, sugar, 347. 

Tart, orange, 333. 

Teats, obstructed, 169. 

Teeth, the, 465. 

Telephone, a cheap, to make, 499. 

Tetter, 459. 

Throat, sore, 419; 

foreign bodies in the, 460. 

Tidy, a pretty, 350; 

crochet macrame, 352. 

Tinware, to clean, 528. 

Toads, a good word for, 275. 

Toast, tomato, 301; 

French, 309. 

Tobacco growing, about, 56; 
sulphur and, 99; 
cultivation of, 100; 
antidote, 457. 

Toe nails, ingrowing, 446. 

Tomato culture, 89; 
plants, training, 90; 
butter, 306. 

Tomatoes, late, 90; 
training, 101; 

excellent way to cook, 296; 
scalloped, 299; 
onions and, 299; 
baked, for breakfast, 300; 
fried, 301; 
preserved, 306. 

Tongue, pickled, 287; 
cold on toast, 289; 
boiled, 290; 
roasted, 290. 

Tongues, how to pickle, 288. 

Tool, a convenient, 247; 
house, a farm, 248. 

Tools, home made, 243; i 

farm, keep sharp, 254. 

Toothache, 417. 

Top-dressing, 78; 
bone dust for, 73; 
in winter, 80; 

Towels, should be thoroughly t}ried. 481; 

the care of, 507. 

Transparency, floral, 367. 




544 


INDEX. 


Transplanting:, 83. 

Traps, weasel, rat and vermin, 260. 

Tread power, improved, 244. 

Trees, large, transplanting, 108; 
care of after transplanting, 109; 
vines and, waste bones for, 110; 
protection of, 113; 
injuries to, 117; 
young, ants on, 118; 
covering for wounds of, 122; 
top grafting, 124. 

Trellis, a cheap, 129. 

Trifle, gooseberry, 331; 

German, 333. 

Tripe a la Lyonaise with tomatoes, 285. 

Trough, convenient, 175; 
a convenient feeding, 177. 

Troughs, iron hog, 180. 

Tuberose, the, 396. 

Turkeys, how to fatten, 213; 
raising, 218. 

Turnips, stuffed, 295. 

Ulcers, 455. 

Umbrellas, care of, 508. 

Varnish, jet black, 505. 

Vase, a living, 402. 

Veal cutlets, 284: 
minced and eggs, 285; 
scollop, 286; 
spiced, 288; 
fillet of, boiled, 289; 
sausages, 289. 

Vegetables, the best garden, 81; 
insects on garden, 96. 

Vegetable substances, value of, 79. 

Veils, black, to clean, 521. 

Ve>vet, to clean, 500; 
to restore the pile of, 514; 
care of, 526. 

Ventilation, 459. 

Verbena, the, 395. 

Vermin, to eradicate, 524. 

Vessel, an oily, to clean, 512. 

Vessels, to purify, 518. 

Vinegar, 517; 
sorgo, how to make, 268; 
clover, 305. 

Vineyard, in the, 126. 

Wafers, oatmeal, 309; 
graham, 309. 

Waffles, 327; 
delicious, 278. 

Wagon wheels, gas tar for, 276. 

Waiters, japanned, to clean, 515, 

Wall papei, hanging, 488; 
how to clean, 502. 


Wall pocket, 367. 

Walls, painting and kalsomining, 510. 
Wardian case, ornamental, 389. 

Wardian cases, 404. 

Warts, 423. 

Washing machine, a, 471; 
fluid, 473; 
made easy, 477; 
hosiery, 478; 
merinos and silk, 480; 
woolens, 480. 

Water, hot, as a remedy, 442; 
to purify, 514; 
to soften, 523. 

Watermelon culture, a new method of, 
93; 

tea dish, 331. 

Weeding implement, a good, 249. 

Weeds, 56; 
late, 57. 

Weights and measures, 334; 
housekeeper’s, 526. 

Wells, removing carbonic acid gas or 
foul air from, 275. 

Wheat, harvesting, 37; 
shocks, 37; 
fields, draining, 39; 
weevil in, 39; 

maxims in small compass, 40; 
nitrate of soda for, 79. 

White goods, to clean, 519. 

Whitewash for buildings and fences, 

256; 

that will stick, 273; 
glazed, 521. 

Whooping cough, 421. 

Wild cherry, grafting the, 108. 

Windfalls or puffs, 151. 

Window gardening, 384. 

Windows, to crystallize, 520. 
Woodenware, to prevent from clack¬ 
ing, 512. 

Wood, to render uninflammable, 275; 

the, to remove a screw rusted in, 529. 
Woodwork, to cleanse, 500. 

Woolen articles, how to give a finish to, 
528. 

Wool, increasing the growth of, 189. 
Work stand, ladies, 380. 

Work table cover, 349. 

Worms, 423. 

Wounds, 417. 

Yeast, railroad, 309. 

Zephyr, white, te clean articles made 
of, 529. 

Zinc, to clean, 530. 













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